May 27, 2004

Tech excellence

Working with today’s girls for tomorrow’s future

By Jeanne C. Lewis
Staff Writer

Local seventh grade girls’ lives are changing for the better. The American Association of University Women [AAUW]—San Jose Branch and John Muir Middle School of San Jose Unified School District [SJUSD]—sponsor the Tech Excellence program for 30 12- and 13-year-old girls. Once a month, the AAUW volunteers showcase jobs and careers in math, science and technology to eager, bright-eyed interested students. The last presentation for the school year featured GAK Attack, a classroom chemistry fabrication and included a pizza party to celebrate their participation in the program.

“GAK is a polymer, a whole series of similar molecules hooked together to make long chains,” explained Elaine Benoit, AAUW Tech Excellence member, to the cafeteria filled with the original 30 girls plus an additional 30 sixth graders who aspire to participate in the program next year. “It is strong but gentle and stretchy. It will bounce and twist and with extreme stress, break. Most plastics, synthetic fabrics like lycra and tennis shoe bottoms are GAK. It is also called silly putty.”

After Benoit’s presentation, the young women work at tables with instructions to create their own GAK in blue, green and yellow. There is much excitement about the chemistry project. When asked about their favorite Tech Excellence activities participated in this year, a group of girls chime in:
“Marine biology. We saw dolphins.”
“I liked when the helicopter landed on the school field. And the police squad car. It was so exciting.”

“The veterinarian with the dog.”

“The program really accelerates learning,” said Gloria Marchant, vice principal at John Muir Middle School. “The kids are real excited and attendance is great. They are exposed to a number of career paths and it improves confidence issues.”

Throughout the year, dedicated volunteer AAUW women coordinate a wide variety of activities for the seventh graders, beginning in September with the scientific study of snail behavior with each student taking home a slow-moving mollusk. Fall presentations have included a United Airlines pilot sharing experiences with a visit to Hiller Aviation Museum and a computer programmer assisting the class in disassembling computers, plus a trip to Intel Corporation.

In 2004, the activities included a visit from San Jose Police Department officers, who arrived in a helicopter and squad car to discuss careers in law enforcement; a field trip to the Tech Museum with DNA laboratory and forensic science study; an assembly and program of robots, plus a trip to Electronic Arts; a veterinarian presentation with a visit to Medical Science Department at O’Connor Hospital and a visit to the University of California/Santa Cruz Long Marine Laboratory for study of marine science and oceanography presented by women working on their post doctorate degrees.

Lectures are presented by women in the selected discipline demonstrating females’ roles in high-tech industries. Hands-on science activity at school in addition to field trips to industry- and science-orientated businesses creates an unforgettable educational experience of the vocations examined. The seventh grade girls are chosen by a writing sample, personal interview, teacher and administration recommendations and other activity involvement.

AAUW has presented Tech Excellence the past seven years with John Muir Middle School. Their purpose exists to bolster girls’ self esteem, mentor, educate about career opportunities, to study sciences, promote college attendance and involve girls from diverse cultural, ethnic, racial, academic and economic backgrounds. In addition to the valuable school program, five girls are sponsored with full tuition paid for a weeklong science camp, Tech Trek, at Stanford University during the summer. This July, Alex Sigman, Lauren Flores, Alysia Empert-Gallegos and Fana Yohannes will attend. The girls live in dormitories and have more exposure to science, math and technology.

“It is a wonderful program,” said Rita Skillman, president of the San Jose Branch AAUW. “I met one our students at the Almaden Country Club. She was excited to see me. She came from Mexico and knew little English when she was in Tech Excellence. Now, she is working her way through community college. It is very gratifying.”

The AAUW, founded in 1881, is the nation’s leading advocate for educational equity for women and girls. There are 160,000 AAUW members in the United States. Their mission is to promote fairness for all women and girls, lifelong education and positive societal change. The association values and seeks members of every race, creed, age, sexual orientation, national origin and level of physical ability. The organization is also part of the International Federation of University women representing 67 countries.

Tech Excellence began when four studies done for the AAUW documented that pre-adolescence girls show an alarming drop in interest in math, science, academic performance and self esteem. Women make up more than half of the labor force, yet only 10.6 percent of engineers and 24.5 percent of doctors are women. Tech Excellence is an intervention program designed to improve this tendency.

“We absolutely love having the AAUW women here,” Shannon McGee, principal at John Muir Middle, a math and science school in the SJUSD and a California Distinguished School. “We have great community support and it is very valuable for the girls. The boys keep asking when they will have a program.”

After the excitement of the GAK attack, the girls are treated to pizza and colas and to visit among themselves. When questioned regarding the students’ plans after their education, no mention is made a modeling or rock star career typical of the age group.

“I want to be a pediatrician,” Megan Claire said without a second thought.

If you or your organization would like to become involved with Tech Excellence or AAUW call [408] 294-2430 or go to www.aauw.org.