What do 8th grade girls dream about? Well, the Chattanooga Girls Leadership Academy (CGLA) 8th graders in classes taught by Angela Kemp, Rebekah Foster, Madeleine Dougherty, and Ruairi Hutchison dream big about excelling in science, technology, engineering, and math. CECS faculty and students are helping to inspire those dreams and encouraging the young women to consider STEM fields for their post-secondary majors and careers.
Earlier this month under the leadership CGLA Head of School and CECS Advisory Board Steering Committee Member Dr. Elaine Swafford and the College’s Associate Dean Dr. Neslihan Alp, seventy CGLA students in four classes learned about possibilities for study and discovery in STEM, and how the College seeks to foster their interest and dreams of making a difference in our world as the engineers, technologists, and computer scientists of the future. Dr. Alp was joined on the visit to the CGLA campus by Associate Professor of Civil Engineering Dr. Mbaki Onyango, Assistant Professors of Mechanical Engineering Drs. Trevor Elliott and Louie Elliott, and Master’s Student Ms. Hanna Karrar.
CGLA’s motto is “Unlock a World of Possibilities”, and through innovative single-gender education with a focus on science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics, the school for girls in grades 6-12 helps each student to live out that motto. CECS welcomes the chance to partner with CGLA in providing activities designed to introduce young women to the many opportunities to see how they can prepare for futures in STEM, and to get to know the College’s female students, faculty, and staff as teachers and role models. In August of this year CGLA 6th and 7th graders came to the College to learn about majors offered by CECS and to tour the EMCS building. In a posting on the CGLA webpage, Dr. Swafford writes, ” The CGLA Mustangs wish to thank UTC and its College of Engineering and Computer Science for supporting our school mission to inspire hope in each girl, positively changing the trajectory of her life, and empowering her infinite choices in the future.”
The College will continue to strengthen and expand its partnership with CGLA with planned classroom visits by members of the CECS student chapter of the Society of Women Engineers and other outreach activities.
Go CGLA Mustangs! Go CECS MOCS! Go Girls in STEM!
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