Women make up about 34% of the STEM workforce, according to the American Association of University Women. That’s a number that students who are a part of Saguaro High School’s Sisters in STEM are trying to change.
Fiona Riley is a junior at the school and one of the presidents of the student-run organization. She said they run a number of events in the district and greater community to try to make science more accessible to everyone.
“Every year we have an annual event where we welcome all children, ages between like 4 to like the end of middle school, and we do experiments with them,” Riley said. “We have our volunteers help to teach them all the areas of STEM. Then we do Sisters in STEM roadshows where we go to elementary schools around our district and bring our experiments to them with some of our volunteers.”
Riley added that the program has given her the confidence to pursue a career in mechanical engineering or the biomedical field.
The 7th Annual Sisters in STEM Kids Event is 10 a.m. to noon on Saturday, Sept. 18, at Saguaro High School.
The event will include activities like creating and rearranging electric circuitry, using magnetic fields and string to create floating paper clips and interacting with Saguaro’s own World Championship FRC robot. Students will learn about how it is programmed and assembled.
Teacher Susan Lindberg oversees Sisters in STEM.
“It’s a lot of fun,” Lindberg said. “It’s great to see these high school students become the teachers and mentor the young kids and give them a chance to explore safely.”
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