INDIANAPOLIS -- The 135 girls will attend the three-day Girls in STEM MAEOPP Pre-College Student Leadership Conference beginning May 29. The students are from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Ohio and Wisconsin.
The conference was organized by the Mid-America Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel, with assistance from the IU School of Informatics and Computing, the Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, the School of Science, TRIO/Upward Bound and the Office for Women at IUPUI.
The association is a consortium of professionals from the TRIO and Educational Opportunity Programs that was formed to help level the playing field of educational opportunity for first-generation, low-income and disabled students.
During the conference, the girls will:
- Engage in hands-on activities in laboratory settings.
- Learn about colleges, college majors and careers.
- Meet with college students, professors and professional women.
- Tour the Schools of Informatics and Computing, Engineering and Technology, and Science.
- Participate in critical thinking and discussion exercises.
- Hear from motivational speakers.
According to the association, the need for such a conference is clear. It cites U.S. News and World Report, which said only 13 percent of girls say they plan to pursue a STEM career.
If the U.S. is to stay competitive in the global market, the number of women in STEM fields must be increased, the association said.