STEM Academy exposes girls to careers in STEM

Students who participated in Exelon Foundation’s STEM Academy had to come up with a solution to a real climate change issue that affects communities. On Friday, they presented their projects. Photo provided by Avoq.
Students who participated in Exelon Foundation’s STEM Academy had to come up with a solution to a real climate change issue that affects communities. On Friday, they presented their projects. Photo provided by Avoq.

STEM Academy exposes girls to careers in STEM

By Tia Carol Jones

Teams of high school aged girls proudly showed off their projects as judges looked on during the culmination of the Exelon Foundation’s STEM Academy. The miniatures depicted solutions to real world problems people in communities across the region face as a result of climate change.

This was the seventh year for Exelon Foundation’s STEM Academy, which brought 60 girls on the campus of University of Illinois Chicago (UIUC) for a week. The program is free and is part of a commitment Exelon has to decrease the gender gap that exists in STEM. Through hands-on STEM activities and field trips, the students learn tools they need to complete the climate change challenge project. At the end of the event, the students graduate and become a part of STEM Academy’s alumnae. About 1,000 young women have come through the program since it began.

According to its website, the Exelon Foundation’s mission is to encourage respect for the environment and to strengthen the social and economic fabric of the community by supporting programs in three areas: Employee Engagement, through giving campaigns and matching gifts; 2c2i, which supports startups developed to help solve climate change challenges; and Energy Education & Workforce Development, which includes STEM Academy, STEM Academy Scholarships and HBCU Corporate Sponsors.

Lailah Smith is a rising junior at Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences. She wanted to participate in STEM Academy because she felt it was a great opportunity to have young women get exposure to fields in STEM. Although people say that STEM is a male-dominated field, Smith believes that women are able to do anything men can do.

“I feel like this is a great way for young women to get hands-on opportunities in STEM,” she said. “This program is also a great way to network with other people in STEM.”

Smith also wanted to be able to explore her options in STEM. She plans to study mathematics and has aspirations to go into environmental law. During the week, the students visited the ComEd Facility and were exposed to different careers. Smith said it was nice to see all the different careers and fields that are included in STEM. For her group’s challenge project, they focused on flooding for Joliet. They figured out a plan that would help the community not flood as much as it does. At a luncheon, the students were able to network with professionals at ComEd and Exelon.

Maya Huggins Garcia is the Senior Manager of Corporate Relations at Exelon. Garcia said that while the numbers of women in STEM is increasing, there is still work to do.

“This is a way to provide these young women with a safe space to be able to dive into their interests in STEM, but not just that, but also to collaborate with like-minded individuals,” Huggins Garcia said.

STEM Academy’s goal is to encourage young women to join STEM focused extracurricular activities at school and give them to confidence to take the initiative because they know they have a network of other young women and women in STEM. Students learn about STEM careers they might not even know exist and see representation of women who look like them from communities like theirs.

In addition to STEM Academy, the Exelon Foundation has yearlong engagement, which includes a mentorship program and A STEM Ambassador program. Alumnae from STEM Academy who want to go into STEM fields are eligible for a full ride scholarship, as well as the opportunity to apply for internships at the company, which creates a pipeline.

For more information about STEM Academy, visit exelonstemacademy.org.

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