Saratoga News
News
AAUW sends Los Gatos, Saratoga students on Tech Trek to Stanford
By Michele Leung
It's never too early to plant a seed and watch it grow into a passion. The members of the local branch of the American Association of University Women hope the scholarships they have awarded to five young students will translate into a lifelong interest in math and science.
The Los Gatos-Saratoga chapter of AAUW awarded five scholarships to girls entering eighth grade to go to Tech Trek, a weeklong math and science camp at Stanford University. Mareaka Robinson and Alyssa Coffin from Fisher Middle School, Katie Hunt from C.T. English, Milly Macierz from St. Mary's School and Arya Parhar of Redwood Middle School were to attend the overnight camp from July 23 to 29.
"The number of girls and women in math and science is rather bad," said Barbara Nesbet, president of the Los Gatos-Saratoga branch of the AAUW. "We just lost a science advocate [former UC-Santa Cruz Chancellor Denice Denton]. Women are smart and capable. We just need to give them opportunities."
The students who received the scholarships to attend camp were recommended by their science or math teacher and selected after an interview. There were 14 applications; the students spoke of their interest in marine biology, chemistry and geology. Nesbet said the Tech Trek committee chose girls who might not have an opportunity to go otherwise.
Tech Trek is an AAUW-sponsored camp, with several locations throughout California. The camp features hands-on math and science activities and lectures by women professionals in related fields.
The camp is for girls entering eighth grade. The narrow window of eligibility is meant to counteract the loss in self-confidence typical in junior high school girls, Nesbet said.
Eighth grade is also the time when students begin to expand their views, said Helen Lemmon, who works to raise money for Tech Trek scholarships.
"They're more open to wanting to learn," said Lemmon, a Saratoga resident.
Lemmon said she knows the scholarships are worthwhile. In the fall, the students typically report back to AAUW members about their camp experience and discuss what they learned.
"When they return, they are more enthused than we are," Lemmon said. "It gives us a feeling that the week was not wasted, and it stimulates them to go on to better things."
