{"668376":{"#nid":"668376","#data":{"type":"news","title":"STEM Gems: Empowering the Next Generation of Women","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EIn June, 50 metro Atlanta teenage girls from diverse backgrounds convened at Georgia Tech for the first in-person STEM Gems summer camp. STEM Gems was founded by Stephanie Espy, CEO and founder of MathSP, a STEM-focused academic and test prep coaching company based in Georgia. Espy received her bachelor\u0027s and master\u0027s degrees in chemical engineering from MIT and the University of California at Berkeley, respectively. The strikingly lower percentage of women in engineering compared to men inspired her to undertake a project in which she spent several years researching and compiling the stories of women in STEM fields. This project became \u003Cem\u003ESTEM Gems\u003C\/em\u003E, a book highlighting the stories of 44 inspiring women in STEM careers and their paths, obstacles, and accomplishments. Espy says it\u0027s a book she wishes she had when she was growing up. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ESTEM careers are still male dominated, with 19% of bachelor\u0027s degrees in engineering awarded to women, and 3% to minority women. STEM Gems is shining a light on successful women working in these fields and providing young girls with encouragement and practical advice as they navigate their own paths. Campers spent the week learning about a variety of careers in STEM, engaging in hands-on activities, touring labs at Georgia Tech, and interacting with leading female engineering professors. They even learned about the college admissions process and bonded through workshops and group discussions on topics such as risk-taking and the importance of a growth mindset. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u0022The thing I was most interested in this week was the lab tours,\u0022\u0026nbsp;said Darshika Domma, a STEM Gem and first-year student at Lambert High School. \u0022We saw what it\u0027s really like in the research labs, what it looks like, what they do there. I got to learn a lot more about how STEM is applied to real life.\u0022 \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003ENithya Neelagiri, a sophomore at South Forsyth, heard about STEM Gems from her younger sister. \u0022I\u0027m already interested in chemical engineering and thought the camp would be a great way to gain some experience,\u0022 she said. One of her favorite activities was a probability game played with marbles. \u0022At that point, I had already really bonded with my teammates, so we had a lot of fun doing the math together.\u0022 Several other campers shared how fascinated they were with a lab tour that featured research being done on rat brains and the potential biomedical applications for humans. The girls\u0027 excitement at the end of the week is a testament to the camp\u0027s inspiring mission \u2014 and the bright futures ahead of them. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003EHighlights by the numbers: \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E\u003Cspan\u003E50 energetic girls.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n44 world-changing careers in STEM.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n20 eye-opening lab tours.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n12 hands-on activities.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\n7 exceptional women in STEM facilitators. 6 leading female engineering professors. \u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/span\u003E\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":"","format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":"","field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EThe last week of June, fifty teenage girls from around the Atlanta metro area convened daily at Georgia Tech\u0027s Marcus Center for the first in-person STEM Gems summer camp.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"A look inside STEM Gems, an all-girls summer camp"}],"uid":"36454","created_gmt":"2023-07-06 17:43:08","changed_gmt":"2023-07-13 16:38:23","author":"swilliamson40","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2023-07-06T00:00:00-04:00","iso_date":"2023-07-06T00:00:00-04:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"671130":{"id":"671130","type":"image","title":"STEM Gems at Georgia Tech","body":null,"created":"1689000053","gmt_created":"2023-07-10 14:40:53","changed":"1689000053","gmt_changed":"2023-07-10 14:40:53","alt":"STEM Gems at Georgia Tech","file":{"fid":"254141","name":"STEMgems.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/07\/10\/STEMgems.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/2023\/07\/10\/STEMgems.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":1763340,"path_740":"http:\/\/www.tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/2023\/07\/10\/STEMgems.jpg?itok=4CDIHHxX"}}},"media_ids":["671130"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"1292","name":"Parker H. Petit Institute for Bioengineering and Bioscience (IBB)"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"187423","name":"go-bio"}],"core_research_areas":[{"id":"39441","name":"Bioengineering and Bioscience"},{"id":"39451","name":"Electronics and Nanotechnology"},{"id":"39501","name":"People and Technology"}],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003ESavannah Williamson\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003Eswilliamson40@gatech.edu\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EGroup photo: Malcolm Davie Photography\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":[],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}