Tech Trek camp inspiring young ladies
FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Careers in science, technology, engineering and math are an important part of our country's workforce.
However, less than 25-percent of women work in these fields. But one program is inspiring young ladies here in the Valley.
Decked out in hard hats and vests, these young ladies all got a geology lesson and then some at the CEMEX Rockfield facility in Fresno County.
Tech Trek camper Lilyana Jones said, "It's been a great learning opportunity. I've learned a lot of things about science and math that's really interesting."
Lilyana Jones of Madera is one of the 80 girls attending Tech Trek. A camp to get girls going into eighth grade motivated to pursue their academic passions.
Tech Trek Fresno director Rebecca Jennings said, "This is the age when they kind of get discouraged in that, they think math is hard and science is hard, so we really want to say no it's fun, it can be done. There's all kind of examples of women and college students and high schoolers who are really excited about this stuff."
On this field trip, employees from CEMEX taught the girls about the role mining plays in their lives and even in their makeup.
"Mining is integral to their lives," said CEMEX spokesperson Jolene Polyacka. "How it affects the streets that they go on, their driveways, their homes, it's part of their everyday life. But also we're finding that girls don't often think of mining as a career and there's a lot of room for girl in mining."
During the one week camp, the girls will on field trips like this, but also learn science and math lessons while staying at Fresno State.
Kayla Enger of Mariposa is enjoying her summer learning. "In my core classes, I am in robotics and we are learning how to program a robot."
Besides the lessons, the campers say there is a shared bond and lots of female encouragement.
Lilyana said, "Yes, sometimes you don't feel like you're the smartest like you do at school, but it's really wonderful that you can think on the same level."
