It’s that time of year when many students start to get anxious about next year’s school schedule. After the Presidents’ Day weekend break, students will begin meeting with their guidance counselors to map out schedules. With their futures in minde, 20 eighth-grade girls and their moms turned out recently for the District’s fifth-annual Women in Engineering Mother-Daughter Breakfast to get a taste of a possible future.
“Girls change the dynamic,” said Suffern High School engineering teacher George Mugno, who’s also leader of the school’s robotics team. “They often have different ways of thinking and problem-solving, which adds to everyone’s experience.”
Jointly sponsored by Suffern Middle School and Suffern High School, the event was designed to encourage eighth-grade girls who have demonstrated aptitude in pre-engineering coursework at the middle school level to enroll in the high school’s elective engineering sequence.
“It’s a great opportunity for the business community and the education system to work together to promote learning in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) and reverse the trend of declining female participation in these fields,” remarked Theresa O’Leary, the director of technology testing for UPS.
Providing early exposure to engineering career opportunities—and women engineers who love their work—may ignite a future professional passion. And the district’s efforts seem to be gaining momentum. Suffern High School engineering teacher George Mugno noted increased interest among incoming freshman girls in both engineering courses and robotics this year.
“Last year, we had two girls on the [robotics] team,” Mugno said. “This year, we have six. Girls change the dynamic; they often have different ways of thinking and problem-solving, which adds to everyone’s experience.”
The Mother-Daughter Breakfast included a hands-on, mother-daughter design challenge and interactive presentations by O’Leary; Karen Lynch, a structural engineer with Geiger Engineers, and; Dr. Suzanne Matthews, an assistant professor of computer science at USMA, West Point.
“I enjoy being part of this event each year because it takes what was learned in the classroom and shows how it can be applied in real life scenarios,” said O’Leary. “It also allows me to share my journey as a woman in the field of technology with the girls, and hopefully encourages them to consider STEM related fields of study moving forward.”
The Breakfast itself provided girls with the opportunity to draw on the collaborative problem-solving skills they’ve developed through their middle school coursework.
“We use Project Lead the Way curriculum to teach engineering,” explained Suffern Middle School technology teacher Tom DiFabio. “Our students learn by doing through lots of hands-on activities. During the Women in Engineering event, I always find it interesting when the mother-daughter pairs are given a hands-on design problem. At first, there always seems to be a struggle for leadership, but the partners soon find that working together by drawing on each other’s strengths is the best approach.”
“It used to be that every woman engineer that I knew had a father, brother or uncle in an engineering field,” remarked Lynch. “But the emphasis on STEM curriculum in our district and across the nation is really helping to turn that corner. It presents to girls that this is something that they can do, which is fantastic.”
Over the past three years, Suffern High School parent Mary Beth Clinton has helped Mugno and DiFabio secure speakers for the Mother-Daughter Breakfast. As a woman engineer herself, Clinton took Lynch’s sentiments to heart.
“If we can provide a way to plant the seed and raise the level of awareness for a young woman who shows potential but may not have the means to get the exposure and influences elsewhere, we should do it,” Clinton asserted. “After visiting and exploring a dozen college engineering programs with my sons over the last few years, I’ve seen that Suffern High School’s engineering coursework is comparable to that of a freshman-level, college engineering program. If we can get more young women to take advantage of these opportunities, then let’s work together and do it.”
Photo caption: Twenty Suffern Middle School eighth-graders teamed with their mothers (mostly) to complete a design challenge at the District’s fifth annual Women in Engineering Mother-Daughter Breakfast on February 2.
Article and photos courtesy of Jennifer Citrolo and Ramapo Central Schools.
