Women in Science and Engineering Convention

By Alyssa Bissell
On October 13, a lucky selection of thirteen ladies from the high school got the opportunity for a fun-filled, yet informative field trip to Iowa State University in Ames. Iowa State’s whole purpose for this field trip was to invite young women from all across Iowa and other surrounding states, such as Minnesota, to a convention for their pure interest in science and engineering.
As the girls arrived early that morning, they were greeted with breakfast and soon sent off to their first “session.” Five sessions were given throughout the day, and each student was fortunate enough to attend the top five sessions of their choice. Each session was set up like a classroom. An instructor was there to explain and describe all of the possible fields that women who are interested in science and engineering could venture. These fields range from medicine to biology or even psychology.
Towards the end of the day, more fun activities were offered to the girls to introduce how entertaining careers in science and engineering could be.
“The glass blowing was awesome,” said sophomore Brooke Brommel. “ We even got to create and program our own robots.”
Students who attended gained much more knowledge of certain branches of science and engineering that they may have never even heard before, and they received much advice on how to start the career they are interested. The convention boosted much confidence and encouragement for more women to get involved into the science and engineering field.