Girls Engineer Their Futures Through Girls. Inc., Chapman Partnership At the Summer Engineering Academy, high school girls were able to get hands-on experience in coding, programming and other STEM skills.

In a new partnership with Girls Inc. of Orange County, Chapman University’s Fowler School of Engineering is helping girls prepare for careers in engineering and other STEM fields.

Girls Inc. is a nonprofit dedicated to inspiring girls to be strong, smart and bold. The collaboration brought girls in high school to the Chapman campus to participate in the school’s annual Summer Engineering Academy. 

“We really try to partner with different companies and schools to introduce students to STEM fields and give them hands-on experience with it,” said Anna Gianina Reynolds, senior STEM coordinator at Girls Inc. of Orange County.

During the sessions at Chapman, the girls were able to work on projects that included machine learning, coding, arduino programming, and design and fabrication. For many, it was their first introduction to the skills they were learning. 

The opportunity to visit a college campus and to start imagining themselves as college students was another added benefit, Reynolds said. In addition, the majority of the instructors—Chapman engineering students—were also women. 

“As we know, women are still underrepresented in STEM fields, so to be able to see themselves in that space and see what their future could look like [was invaluable]. Having Chapman students and instructors there and able to share their expertise was fantastic,” she said. This partnership directly aligned with Girls Inc. of Orange County’s vision to create parity for all girls in Orange County in education, career and society.

Learn more about Chapman engineering students.

Fowler School of Engineering students addressed health care accessibility, childhood education and fitness in its annual Make-a-Thon.

Reynolds, who sat in on some of the workshops, was especially encouraged to see how the girls helped each other, talking about problems and finding solutions when something wasn’t working.

“It was really awesome to see their growth throughout the program,” she said, “and to see their confidence in their STEM identity and STEM engagement grow throughout the week.”

Tom Piechota, interim dean of Fowler School of Engineering, talked with the girls while they were on campus. “I was impressed with their curiosity and wanting to learn more about fields of engineering and how they might continue to gain knowledge in those areas,” he said. “One of the girls even followed up with me and thanked us for a great workshop and for providing time with her to learn more about data science.”

The program highlighted the school’s commitment to “Engineering for All,” said Piechota. 

Chapman’s Summer Engineering classes are open to high schoolers in the community. Learn more at www.chapman.edu/sea. Girls Inc. of Orange County serves more than 10,000 girls a year across the county through innovative school-based and non-school based programming. Learn more at www.girlsinc-oc.org.