The #girlSTEM Conference, presented by PECO, will be hosted on May 18, 2017 at Delaware Valley University.
Over 800 girls and more than 40 volunteer presenters working in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) fields will come together with the hopes of inspiring middle and high school girls to pursue STEM careers. The #girlSTEM Conference is now the largest county-wide educational conference for students in the area.
Girls in grades six through ten attend three 45-minute sessions led by women working in STEM. They are able to choose the sessions that are of interest to them to give them the best possible experience. In addition to building STEM awareness, the conference inspires girls to succeed in other areas. In 2016, 97% of girls who attended reported feeling motivated to do well in school following #girlSTEM.
“STEM jobs are often male dominated. Research shows that, while women fill close to half of all jobs in the United States, they hold less than 25 percent of STEM jobs. #girlSTEM seeks to turn these statistics around,” says Dr. Lindsey Sides, who organizes the conference on behalf of the Bucks County Intermediate Unit.
Romona Riscoe Benson, director of Corporate Relations at PECO, the conference’s presenting sponsor, looks forward to delivering the opening remarks. “At PECO we are committed to supporting education, with a specific focus on STEM programming and initiatives,” says Riscoe Benson. “Introducing young girls to STEM related fields can ignite a passion that pushes them to become the future leaders of our industry who drive innovation.”
The conference is led and coordinated by the Bucks County Intermediate Unit #22 in partnership with United Way of Bucks County and is hosted by Delaware Valley University.
The 2017 #girlSTEM Conference is funded by PECO (Presenting Sponsor); Dow and PennEast (Gold Sponsor); Comcast, PPL Electric Utilities, and Parx Casino (Silver Sponsors); and ARRIS Inc., BB&T, Delaware Valley University, Harrisburg University of Science & Technology, Langan, Mr. D’s Tees, Penn Community Bank, and Wegmans (Bronze Sponsors).