Tech Trek Scholarships

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) of Santa Cruz County held their membership luncheon honoring Tech Trek Scholarship Recipients on Saturday, September 23rd at the Seascape Resort.

Five 8th grade girls from schools throughout Santa Cruz County were awarded scholarships from AAUW to attend a week long STEM (science, technology, engineering & mathematics) Tech Trek Camp at Stanford this past summer.

Danika Marlatt, New Brighton; Francesca Lorenzini, Mission Hill; Leila Dagan, San Lorenzo Valley; Emily Marschall-Niswonger, Aptos Jr. and Antonia Torres-Tinoco, Lakeview competed through essays and interviews explaining why Math and Science were important to them.

Each girl shared an experience from the camp with the AAUW members attending the luncheon.

Keynote speakers for the luncheon were Professor Campbell Leaper, PhD Department Chair, Psychology, UCSC and Christine Starr, Graduate Student in Developmental Psychology. Professor Leaper and Ms. Starr addressed some of the reasons that girls and women remain underrepresented in many math-intensive STEM fields.

Currently Professor Leaper and Ms. Starr are conducting studies related to gender and STEM. One project is examining the impact of a summer science internship at UCSC for high school students on girls STEM motivation, while another is considering how high school girls involvement in STEM-related extra-curricular programs may foster a sense of group belonging. They are also collaborating in a project exploring how biology classroom experiences may predict undergraduate women’s and underrepresented students’ sense of belonging and motivation in STEM.

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For more information about AAUW’s involvement with STEM, particularly with the Tech Trek program, contact krisrsheehan@gmail.com or 831-915-3630. For more information about joining AAUW, please contact louanneec@gmail.com or 831-471-8381.