Tuesday, March 10, 2015

Dade Christian Students Take Part in UM's Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day

Katrina Alonso, Alysha Medina, Gianna Rodriguez and Cassie Chacon creating a sturdy and long bridge design using K’NEX pieces.

On February 26, fifteen young ladies from grades 9-11 were selected to participate in the University of Miami's Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day. The girls, who were nominated by their teachers, have excelled in the subjects of math and science and demonstrated an interest in pursuing a degree in engineering. Accompanied by secondary teacher, Miss Samantha Carrillo, the day began at the institution’s Student Activities Center where the attendees received an introduction to engineering and an overview of UM’s program. 

Ana Kato and Emily Gonzalez with their K'NEX bridge creation.
“Visiting colleges as a high school student motivates you to do better in school,” said Emily Gonzalez, 9th grade. While most students her age are still adjusting to the academic demands of high school, Emily already knows where and what she wants to study. “During the summer before my freshmen year, I interned at the University of Miami and learned to program in Java C++, a coding language,” said Gonzalez. “There, I got acquainted with a girl who attends Stanford [University]. That’s where I want to go to study computer engineering.” Emily truly enjoyed being part of Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day and hearing from women engineers who have experienced success in their field.

The students, who were divided into groups based on their engineering interests, met with UM professors and participated in labs. In the civil engineering lab, the girls were assigned the same project incoming freshmen at UM complete – they had 30 minutes to create a bridge that can sustain 5 lbs. of weight using only K’NEX pieces. Other stations included circuit board creations, environmental water filters, as well as various experiments demonstrating the different sciences utilized by engineers. 

Fellow 9th grader, Gianna Rodriguez enjoyed learning about the biomedical engineering field and networking with girls from other schools who share her passion for science. “It was a nice experience, it really broadened my perspective on what engineering actually is,” said Rodriguez. “During winter break I interned at the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center under renowned doctors. I got to participate in research, look at cancer cells under a microscope and classify them. I’m definitely thinking about [a degree in] biomedical engineering.”

From beginning to end, the entire day was filled with positive messages of encouragement and female empowerment. As stated in a recent University of Miami News Release, “’Engineering is still a male-dominated field,’ said UM biomedical engineering major Stacie Arechavala, who, as the high school outreach coordinator for the UM chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, organized Thursday’s event. ‘We’re helping these girls learn about a fascinating field that can positively affect lives and change the world.’”

Left to right: Hannah Alvardo, Alysha Medina, Ana Kato, Katrina Alonso, Juliet Hassan, Hailey Gonzalez, Gianna Rodriguez, Emily Gonzalez, Celine Wong, Christine Alvarez, Cassie Chacon, Gabriella Fondeur, Sofia Gomez and Amanda Acevedo.




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