High school girls shadow female STEM students at UB
Members of the Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) Outreach Committee welcome local high school students to UB for a shadow day.
By Sarah D'Iorio
Published December 7, 2017 This content is archived.
A group of local high school girls had the opportunity to experience the day in the life of a STEM college student during a recent visit to the University at Buffalo.
Twenty-five tenth grade students from Math, Science, and Technology Preparatory School in Buffalo visited campus on November 29th to attend a shadow day, jointly hosted by Women in Engineering and Science (WiSE) and the New York Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (NYGEAR UP).
The day’s activities included a welcome reception, a tour of engineering labs with School of Engineering and Applied Sciences Dean Liesl Folks, and a panel luncheon with current UB students. Each girl was also matched with a UB student majoring in a field in which she has expressed interest, and attended a class with that student.
Junior Elizabeth Quaye, co-chair of the WiSE Outreach Committee and a pharmacology and toxicology major, took the lead in organizing the event.
“I wanted to give back to women who look like me and have similar interests. This is something I wish I would have had the opportunity to do when I was in a high school,” said Quaye.
The goal of the event was to help high school students, who are all participants in the NYGEAR UP program, envision what their life could be like if they choose to pursue a STEM discipline at UB. NYGEAR UP is an initiative designed to increase the number of students who are prepared to enter and excel in postsecondary education.
WiSE is a collaboration between the College of Arts and Sciences and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences that provides support and extra-curricular opportunities to female students in the STEM fields with the goal of increasing the recruitment, retention and success of women in the sciences, math and engineering.
School of Engineering and Applied Science Dean Liesl Folks led the group on a tour of engineering labs and facilities.
In this video, learn how UB has made it part of its mission to change gender inequality in STEM professions, not only through academics but through initiatives to raise awareness and access to STEM fields for students who may not otherwise consider making it a career choice.