Loudoun Commission on Women & Girls hosts a successful STEM Expo
For Immediate Release
Media Contact: Lorna Campbell Clarke 703-963-5735
Loudoun Commission on Women & Girls hosts a successful STEM Expo
Commission partners with Nova Enrichment Academy to bring more awareness to this important and fun event
May 8, 2018 – Loudoun County, VA – On Sunday, May 6, 2018, the Loudoun Commission on Women and Girls (LCWAG) partnered with Nova Enrichment Academy to host an estimated 600 guests at Nova Enrichment’s 4th Annual STEM Expo, free to the public. The expo directly served over 100 elementary, middle and high school girls from Loudoun County.
The Commission’s STEM/STEAM and Student Committees organized and managed the event, which featured robots and hands-on STEAM activities developed by Nova Enrichment Academy, Hillsboro Charter Academy’s Girls in G.E.A.R. club, Loudoun Academy of Science (AOS), and Loudoun Academy of Engineering and Technology (AET). Numerous local businesses provided donations in support of the event, including Tom Dolan Swim School, Blackfinn Ameripub, the Zone, Barnes & Noble, Sow Sole Creations, Wegmans, and American Girl.
Featured speakers, including Phyllis J. Randall, Chairman of the Board of Supervisors, Barbara Canfield, the Director of Natural and Applied Sciences at Northern Virginia Community College, Cathy Hall, Northern Virginia Community College’s High School Outreach Coordinator, and student panels from both AOS and AET, discussed topics relating to STEM education and opportunity.
The underrepresentation of women in STEM fields is a well-documented problem. According to recent statistics published in THE Journal, "women make up only a third of the world's STEM graduates, and they hold just under a quarter of IT jobs. Plus, the pipeline isn't looking very promising; less than 25 percent of the students who took the advanced computer science placement exam were women.” By hosting events like these, LCWAG hopes to inspire our girls to pursue careers in the STEM/STEAM industry.
“This expo is important to Loudoun’s young girls for two reasons. We expose them to STEM outside of school, which studies show increases the likelihood that they’ll pursue STEM careers, and we introduce them to female role models, like our speakers and STEM/STEAM committee members, who show them that girls do, in fact, grow up to become scientists, coders, engineers and mathematicians. It’s even important for the younger girls to see these teenage girls from AOS and AET remaining interested in science. It validates STEM as a normal pursuit for them,” stated the Commission’s Chair, Christine DeWitt.
LCWAG, a nonprofit organization founded in 2017 by Phyllis J. Randall, is a component fund of the Community Foundation for Loudoun and Northern Fauquier Counties, and is independently funded through private donations. Through collaboration with local organizations and programs designed to educate and empower, LCWAG strives to improve women and girls’ health, safety and wellness and educational and professional opportunities. For more information, visit www.lcwag.org.
###