500 Girls Expected to Participate in UB’s Fourth “Take Our Daughters to Work Day”

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- As part of the annual national celebration organized by the Ms. Foundation for girls ages 9 - 15, UB will hold its Fourth Annual "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" on April 22.

UB holds one of the largest "Take Our Daughters to Work Day" programs in the Buffalo area. It features a diverse, interactive program allowing girls to explore careers in such varied fields as information technology, medicine and biological sciences, dental medicine, law, photography, dance, business, environmental studies, athletics, speech and hearing, radio broadcasting, and early child care.

The day's purpose is to expand girls' career horizons and increase their self-esteem, according to Deborah Schifferle and Bernice Noble, co-chairs of the UB Take Our Daughters to Work Day Committee.

"Recent research indicates that the self-esteem of many girls plummets by the time they reach the age of 15," notes Schifferle. "That's why our program will emphasize a variety of career options for them, especially those in math and science, two fields where girls still lag behind boys academically."

As many as 500 girls are expected to participate in this year's program. While most will be daughters or "surrogate" daughters of faculty, staff and students, participants also will include 175 girls from inner-city Buffalo who will be attending through Prevention Focus, Inc. a Buffalo non-profit substance abuse and teen-pregnancy prevention agency.

The day will begin with registration and refreshments at 8:30 a.m. followed by opening ceremonies at 9:30 a.m. in Alumni Arena on the UB North (Amherst) Campus featuring a keynote address by Naniette Coleman, president of UB's Undergraduate Student Association.

Visits to sites of the girls' choice will take place from 10:45 - 11:45 a.m. and 1:30 - 2:30 p.m. with a lunch from noon to 1 p.m.

Girls can choose from more than 40 sites on the North and South campuses.

Morning sessions will include a tour of UB's Pharmacy Museum and turn-of-the-century apothecary; a design-your-own-Web-page lesson; a behind-the-scenes tour of the Center for the Arts; a cake-decorating lesson at the UB bakery; a workshop on journal-writing; a hands-on demonstration of new technology for persons with disabilities; a lesson in how to be a medical laboratory "detective," and a visit to UB's new speech and hearing clinic.

Some afternoon sessions will include: a tour of Slee Concert Hall and an open dress rehearsal of the Cassatt String Quartet; a tour of WBFO-FM 88.7 studios; a first-hand experience of what it is like to be a public interest lawyer; a visit to UB's Neuroanantomy Museum; a jazz class in UB's dance studio; and a visit to a photographic studio where girls will learn about traditional photographic processes and today's digital imaging.

For more information on the program including a complete listing of all sessions offered, visit its Web site at http://www.student-affairs.buffalo.edu/events/todtw/