Close to 150 middle and high school girls, parents, and school officials attended our first Annual STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) conference on Friday, May 20th! Funded by PSEG Foundation and sponsored by WOD partners Drexel University, The National Coalition of 100 Black Women and Wells Fargo, the conference was held at Drexel’s Bossone Research Center in Philadelphia.
The morning session began with a keynote and panel featuring speakers and panelists currently working in STEM fields, many being current Drexel student and alumna. Next, the girls were led by Drexel students and staff in rounds of hands-on experiments and treated to Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream during lunch. The afternoon featured a college information session, led by Drexel’s Admissions staff.
Three-quarters of the fastest growing occupations require significant mathematics or science preparation; Minority women comprise fewer than 1 in 10 employed scientists and engineers; 71% of all new jobs in STEM are in computing. WOD was proud to host this conference to help prepare our girls for careers in STEM.
