Four Troy Middle School eighth-graders participated in “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day” at Argonne National Laboratory earlier this month. Jazzpher Evans, Leila Mines, Lucy Magat and Hannah Konieczny spent the day touring Argonne’s research facilities, engaging in hands-on engineering experiments and competing in a team challenge. They also heard motivational presentations by female engineers and learned about STEM careers from world-class scientists and engineers.
The students said they most enjoyed learning about the various careers possible with degrees in engineering. They were nominated for the event by District 30-C Troy Middle School science teachers Barbara Will-Henn and Colleen Fals. “A lot of girls think that science is for boys,” Fals said. “This was an opportunity for them to go and realize that they can do it, too. It’s important that more females realize that they have the ability to do this.”
Troy School District 30-C added that its schools place a priority on science, technology, engineering and math.