Too many women and girls don’t realize that the STEM field needs them and their unique perspectives and insights. 

Nationwide, only 10% of people in STEM careers are women, and women make up 16% of engineering and tech majors at UVU. To address this gender gap and encourage female students to explore STEM, UVU hosted the Girls’ Engineering and Technology Day on Friday, November 11, 2021. The event empowered hundreds of elementary and junior high school girls to know they can pursue careers in STEM if they so choose.

“Having diversity in anything is important,” said Kazem Sohraby, associate dean of the College of Engineering and Technology (CET). “Ingenuity is not limited to men or women, and we have to find ways to offer opportunities to women so they can express their ingenuity.”

UVU is committed to preparing students to serve the Utah community. One way to help girls prepare to make large strides in STEM in Utah or elsewhere and tap into their ingenuity: a fun field trip to the UVU campus for a STEM fair. Sponsored by Big-D Construction and in partnership with SheTech, the largest industry-led STEM engagement platform for high school girls, the three-hour event was a big hit with the students.

“A lot of these girls might not know much about STEM or college yet,” said Doug Radunich, UVU STEM outreach coordinator. “But when they come to see all these different fields and branches, they can become interested.”

The event featured Cydni Tetro, CEO of Brandless, as the keynote speaker. She shared about the prevalence of technology in every field. UVU faculty and student volunteers took girls on tours of science and technology labs on campus, gave out free swag, and ran booths for each CET program to share information and technological projects. Many girls were most interested in playing with the virtual reality headset stationed at one booth.

The UVU Creative Learning Studio, which aims to teach future and current K-12 teachers how to integrate STEM across the curriculum in their classrooms, hosted another booth. Dr. Krista Ruggles, assistant professor in the elementary education program, ran it. “Girls need to build their growth mindset and feel like they can be scientists or engineers,” she said. “That message isn’t always so clear.”

UVU was out to make this message clear on Friday. As the girls eagerly explored each booth, they became much more aware of career possibilities, the wonders of technology, and their own potential.

“I really like engineering, and I want to learn more about it,” said attendee Molly Duncan, a junior high school student in the area. “My favorite part of the fair was the holographic fan since I think holographics will really improve technology we have today. I want to be a robotic engineer when I grow up.”

Her dad, Steve Duncan, was an engaged, supportive attendee for his daughter. “Introducing my daughter to the science fields is important because I want her to know what kind of options she has,” he said. “I want her to feel like she has the potential to do anything that she’s interested in. If she has big STEM-related dreams, I want her to be able to follow those dreams and not be limited.”