Several young women in the Wayne-Westland schools are engineering their futures.
The students, 15 in sixth grade and two in seventh grade, are part of the Engineering Society of Detroit Girls in Engineering Academy, created to improve academic achievement and increase interest in engineering among girls. The goal of the program, a spokesman noted, is to close the gender gap in engineering. The first three years of the program are for middle school students to help prepare them academically for high school with a focus on mathematics and engineering courses.
The 17 Wayne Westland students are enrolled in classes that provide math and science enrichment, engineering and computer science concepts, English/language arts comprehension, hands-on project-based STEM activities, mentoring, field trips to industry, and engineering career exploration.
The second-year students stayed on the Eastern Michigan University campus for the summer where they took classes and went on field trips to GM, Lear and Marathon. They met female engineers, learned about their companies and jobs, and worked on an engineering challenge. At Lear, the girls worked in teams to assemble a car seat, learning about tolerances, efficiency, and quality.
“We hope through our program the students will be able to determine their passion and interests by high school graduation and to provide them with the skills they need to excel in their chosen path,” said Alexandra Lofton, program manager, Girls in Engineering Academy.
“In the future, the girls can expect exposure to multiple campuses, including LTU, EMU, OU, and CMU, with more in the works. Engineering courses will continue from chemical, biomedical, and electrical engineering courses - all with hands-on projects. Our instructors are all STEM college students and primarily female to provide our students with role models in their fields - and to show them girls can work in these fields,” she said.
