"Inspire Her Mind" opens doors of engineering to young girls
Elizabeth H.(left) and Olivia V.(right) learn how to build an FM radio at The Society of Women Engineers event, "Inspire her mind" March 20 at the ET building.
Central Michigan University’s Society of Women Engineers hosted the first “Inspire Her Mind” day camp Saturday in the Engineering and Technologies Building.
Almost 50 local young girls from fifth to eighth grades came to CMU Saturday to partake in a day filled with engineering activities and fun.
Society of Women Engineers President, and senior mechanical engineering major from Chicago, Tamika Taylor said she hopes the event inspires girls to pursue engineering.
“Society has developed the idea that engineering is a man’s field and that’s not correct,” Taylor said. “Girls can do anything guys can do.”
Taylor noted that most engineering classes she has taken have been mainly male dominated.
“In our classes, they are small, there are not a lot of women,” Taylor said. “So, we are trying to promote engineering to younger grades for the next generation because they are the future.”
Morgan Field, another member of the Society of Women Engineers and junior mechanical engineering major from Milford, said the uneven gender ratio almost made her rethink her engineering major.
“There is such a small percentage of women engineers right now,” Field said. “At first, I was discouraged because I was literally the only girl in all my classes.”
Mount Pleasant resident Kristin Sexton brought her fifth grade daughter Casey Sexton to Inspire Her Mind and said she really enjoyed the event.
“I am an engineer myself so I think it’s important (to teach girls the possibilities of engineering).” Sexton said.
Sexton joked that her daughter Casey was still too young to know if she wanted to be an engineer like her mother, but she is good at math and science.
Olivia Vermeire a sixth-grader at Sacred Heart Catholic School in Mount Pleasant said despite being signed up by her mother without knowing, she was enjoying herself and maybe wanted to become an engineer.
Taylor said the Inspire Her Mind event is something the Society of Women Engineers would like to continue putting on in the future.
