BVU Hosts Girls at AAUW Tech Trek Camp for Science, Math

July 29, 2016

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) Storm Lake branch hosted a week-long Tech Trek camp at Buena Vista University for 22 rising eighth-grade girls. Tech Trek is uniquely designed to show girls firsthand how exciting careers in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields can be, and the AAUW Storm Lake event was recently awarded the Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council Seal of Approval.

During the week-long camp the girls participated in core classes and workshops which included subjects such as Verizon MIT App Class, Symantec Cyber Security Hacking Class and How to Develop Solar Powered Cars and Wind Turbines. They took active field trips to the Buena Vista County Conversation Park and to Kings Pointe Water Park and also enjoyed canoeing and kayaking, creating pottery, touring a wind farm and performing skits. The camp concluded with a science symposium where the girls presented professional posters to fellow campers and their families.

"The young women at the camp had the opportunity to engage in hands-on intensive work side by side in STEM fields that girls have historically not been encouraged to explore," said Dr. Andrea Frantz, associate professor of digital media and social media coordinator of the Storm Lake Tech Trek camp. "From engineering their own solar-powered cars, to interacting with a black rat snake, growing their own rock candy crystals and building computer apps from scratch, the campers all reported new insights and excitement about their experiences throughout the week. It was a delight to watch their eyes get big and the high fives happen after a particular breakthrough."

A long-time leader on issues related to women and girls in STEM, AAUW is working to expand opportunities for women and girls in these fields through advocacy, programming and research.

This year, AAUW is holding 21 Tech Trek camps across the country. Attendees pay only a nominal $50 fee due to generous donations from AAUW's supporters and the community, as well as sponsorships from corporations and industry stakeholders in developing practical, career-focused curricula.

Tech Trek was created in 1998 by an AAUW member in California, long before the shortage of women in STEM became part of the national dialogue. This successful program, which has served more than 11,000 girls in California alone, scaled up to a national AAUW effort in 2013. It continues to grow and spread to other communities across the country, including Storm Lake.

"Hosting AAUW's Tech Trek camp is an amazing opportunity for Buena Vista University, not only to welcome young girls in Iowa to our beautiful campus, but also to encourage their pursuit of education and career opportunities in areas that have been traditionally underrepresented by women," said Lori Berglund, assistant director of career and personal development at BVU and assistant director of the Storm Lake Tech Trek camp.

AAUW empowers women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research. Their nonpartisan, nonprofit organization has more than 170,000 members and supporters across the United States, as well as 1,000 local branches and 900 college and university partners. Since AAUW's founding in 1881, members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day — educational, social, economic and political. Learn more at www.aauw.org.