Jun 3, 2015

TRIO Upward Bound students attended Girls in STEM Conference

Six Central Lakes College TRIO Upward Bound students attended Girls in STEM Conference at Indiana University-Purdue University, Indianapolis, IN May 29-May 31.
The conference was hosted by the Mid-America Association of Educational Opportunity Program Personnel.
Students were able to build robots, make batteries out of potatoes, paint using maggots, tour the IUPUI campus and meet students from 10 states. 
The students included: Danielle Sand (Browerville High School) and Rosalyn Stewart-Kuschel (Onamia High School), both in CLC PSEO, as well as high school students Amy Lochli (Staples-Motley High School), Elizabeth Brown (Staples-Motley High School), Jasmine McRoss (Onamia High School), and Makayla Kowalczyk (Pierz-Healy High School).

These students were chosen because of their commitment to the TRIO Upward Bound Program. Each girl has a cumulative grade point average above a 3.0 and has attended at least one six-week academic summer program. They all wrote essays regarding their interests in various STEM careers including Paleontology, Aerospace, Medical, Engineering and more. 
Throughout the conference, girls received STEM exposure through the following activities:
•Hands-on activities in laboratory settings
•Education about majors, colleges, and careers
•Mentoring opportunities with college students, professors, and professional women
•Critical thinking and discussion exercises
•College campus and medical building tours
•Project-based Think Tank activity with group presentation
•Discussion on current STEM issues
•STEM professionals and college student panel
•Concurrent sessions that allow students to be exposed to all disciplines of STEM
•Motivational speakers
The conference was a chance for the high school sophomores and juniors to see that it is possible for girls to enter into STEM careers, said CLC Upward Bound advisor Susan Roering.
"This lets them get familiar with the possible careers," she said.
TRIO Upward Bound at CLC serves 100 students at eight high schools in Todd, Morrison and Mille Lacs counties. For more information about the program, go to www.clcmn.edu/upwardbound/ or call 218-855-8011.