Charlestown High School, Charlestown, MA
The Instructor and Main Contact for Charlestown High School, Boston, MA, partnered with Bunker Hill Community College, Tech Boston and Metro Boston Tech Prep Consortium to organize a two-day recruitment and awareness event. Charlestown High School Celebration of Girls in Mathematics, Science, Engineering & Technology took place May 29 - 30 at Bunker Hill Community College. It was attended by over 120, 9th and 10th grade female students.
Those two days included speakers and hands-on activities for the students. Cisco volunteers contributed to the success of the event. Five software engineers and one Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert participated in a panel that answered some tough questions from the girls, including:
- "How does engineering help cure disease?"
- "I really want to be a lawyer. How can I combine that with engineering?"
- "What is a patent Lawyer?"
- "How do you chemically engineer food?"
- "What role does engineering play in hair dressing?"
and, of course, - "How much money do you make?"
A Cisco Test Development Engineer was the keynote. The Cisco produced I am an Engineer video was well received as the girls listened for mention of what they find important in a career—enjoyment, prestige, security, benefits, and a good salary.
Our Cisco volunteers also worked with the young women informally in small group activities. The girls worked in teams making kites as they discussed the principles of aerodynamics. They were also introduced to the "Egg Drop" exercise. They had to fashion protection for an egg so that when it dropped from a high altitude it would not break.
Also, addressing the group and driving home the importance of gender equity were two powerful female role models: the Bunker Hill Community College President and Dean of Developmental Learning and Academic Support.
The following semester, Charlestown High School’s female enrollment went up over 30%.