More than 100 young women joined the annual Hermanas STEM Conference at SMCC.
The conference was created in partnership with Intel Corporation to increase the number of underrepresented women choosing to go to college and to inspire them to pursue careers in engineering or science. The Hermanas program gives high school girls the opportunity to explore careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math while building relationships with other strong women in the field and in other schools.
"The Hermanas STEM Conference is an opportunity to get hands-on experience in life sciences, engineering and coding," said Rosa Cota, Director of Early College at SMCC. "We hope the actual program, the speakers, and their experience on campus help spark the interest in STEM and college."
Hermanas translates to "sisters," a term chosen to emphasize sisterhood, in the experience of learning together and connecting with successful women in STEM fields.
The conference program exposed students to the college campus and the new SMCC Science Complex, where they toured and had a chance to join workshops for Encryption and Decoding, Geology with Crystal Investigation, Life Sciences with Eyes on the World of Science and Discovery, Math and a workshop in Engineering Duct Tape Design. The entire program gave an inside look at every field in STEM.
The conference also welcomed Keynote Speaker Dr. Dolores Urbieta, a Math Faculty at SMCC. Students were also joined by SMCC President Dr. Richard Daniel, Vice-Presidents Dr. Osaro Ighodaro, and Dr. Bernice Portervint.
