Girls reign at MTSU math, science event [+VIDEO]

It may have been raining outside, but girls reigned supreme inside during the 21st Expanding Your Horizons in Math and Science Conference at MTSU Saturday, Feb. 10, in the Science Building and other university facilities.

Jennifer L. Williams

Middle school and high school girls attended workshops, heard from mentors and keynote speaker Jennifer Williams, enjoyed hands-on experiences while learning about careers in science, technology, engineering and math and learned more about college life at MTSU.

Williams, who has been a part of EYH conferences since 2001 and now serves MTSU’s College of Basic and Applied Sciences as an academic adviser, spoke about their futures, including potential careers in the STEM disciplines.

“We discussed opportunities in STEM and what careers are available to them,” Williams said. “We discussed how they can start preparing now, as middle school and high school girls, to be successful in the future as they pursue their career goals.”

Williams’ informative talk included advice on taking plenty of math and science courses as early as possible and becoming a well-rounded individual by getting involved in organizations and clubs at their schools.

Chemistry professor Judith Iriarte-Gross, who is director of the MTSU WISTEM (Women in STEM) Center, is the EYH director.

“What a day,” Iriarte-Gross wrote in an email to EYH committee members Saturday night.

“We persisted and showed a lot of middle and high school girls a possible future in STEM careers.”

To learn more about EYH at MTSU, visit www.mtsu.edu/eyh.

— Randy Weiler (Randy.Weiler@mtsu.edu)

Participants make a microscope discovery at EYH.

While her lab partner watches, a middle school student participating in an Expanding Your Horizons workshop Feb. 10 in the MTSU Science Building reacts while viewing what’s under the microscope. (MTSU photo by Eric Sutton)

Middle school students check a measurement during the Feb. 10 EYH at MTSU.

Two middle school students attending the Expanding Your Horizons Math and Science Conference at MTSU check their measurement and align a yardstick during a workshop in the Science Building Feb. 10. (MTSU photo by Eric Sutton)

Pearl the bulldog loves the attention he's receiving from girls attending EYH at MTSU.

Pearl the pug receives plenty of attention from the group of girls in the “Open Up and Say Woof” Expanding Your Horizons workshop led by Pearl’s owner, Amy Massengill. (MTSU photo by Eric Sutton)

Schneider Electric's Lakshmmi Kuppa shows EYH middle school girls how to use a batter to make a wooden platform.

Two young participants at MTSU’s Expanding Your Horizons in Science and Mathematics Conference watch Feb. 10 as Lakshmi Kuppa, right, a mechanical engineer at Schneider Electric in Smyrna, Tenn., uses a battery to build and operate a digital trebuchet, or type of catapult. (MTSU photo by Eric Sutton)

This group of EYH attendees show off their lab results.

A group of Expanding Your Horizons attendees show their bottled liquid completed projects in the Science Building laboratory Feb. 10. (MTSU photo by Eric Sutton)