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Students put on goggles, mixed chemicals and watched as they changed
colors in a session titled,
“Light, Color, Chemistry” at Edison’s
annual We Are IT! program for young women.
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Young Women
Explore STEM Careers at Edison’s We Are IT! Event
More than 200 students ranging from sixth to eleventh grade engaged in
a day of learning and fun at Edison Community College on Friday,
November 14, for the ninth annual “We Are IT!” event. The daylong
program is designed to help boost interest of young women in the
science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.
“This year was the best year yet and next year we’ll celebrate our 10
year anniversary,” said Patti Ross, Senior Vice President of Academic
Affairs. “The girls loved the selfie station and took so many fun
pictures throughout the day. Next year, we’re planning to invite all of
our alumni back for our anniversary – over 2,000 girls have been ‘We
Are IT! girls.”
The event began with a keynote address from Jen Fritz, a retired Marine
Corps Gunnery Sergeant and an instructor in the School of Information
Technology at the University of Cincinnati. Fritz spoke to the ladies
about how although her career in the Marine Corps prepared her for many
aspects of life; she still needed formal training to pursue a career in
information technology. She touched on the fact that life doesn’t
always go as planned and encouraged the group to be persistent in
reaching for their dreams.
Each of the girls chose three breakout sessions from a total of
seventeen different sessions offered. Topics of breakout sessions
ranged from diagnostic laboratory medicine and physics to digital photo
editing and robotics. During lunch, students had the opportunity to
network with area STEM professionals.
In addition to giving students a look at what they could do for a
living somewhere down the road, many of the day’s sessions focused on
topics that are relevant in their daily lives. A session titled, “What
You See Isn’t Always What You Get” showed participants the ins and outs
of image altering and how marketers use these techniques to sell
products.
To wrap up the day, students were encouraged to participate in an essay
contest. The theme of the essay asked students to describe how they
best embodied the characteristics of the event’s mascot, “Mitse” (Math,
Information Technology, Science, Engineering). A total of 96 students
entered the essay contest with the first place winner receiving an
iPad.
To further reinforce the use of technology, a new selfie station was
made available to participants. Students had the opportunity to use
their smartphones to take pictures and share with fellow participants
using #WeAreIT14. At the end of the day, a selfie was selected at
random to receive an iPod.
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Upper Valley Career Center students take advantage of the selfie
station at
Edison’s annual We Are IT! program.
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