Young women worked in teams today to create robots out of cardboard and bridges out of paper. It’s all part of an effort by Liverpool High School Senior Rebecca Dromms to get girls interested in STEM careers. She partnered with the SRC in North Syracuse to pursue her Girl Scout Gold Award with an event to show young women what they could do in the field.
“I wanted to expose them to how females could be leaders on this team and really contribute to the robot and the program and gather communication skills and leadership skills and really just learn how to think critically and communicate with each other. That’s a valuable skill you need in the professional and the personal life.”
The event featured the Liverpool High School Robotics Team’s robot and included several activities that required the ladies to work as a team. Director of Corporate Communications for SRC Lisa Mondello says she would like to see more people in STEM careers.
“Right now with all the contracts we have, we are in a constant hiring mode and we can’t hire enough qualified people. So we need to get the word out. If you’re in a profession that you could switch over and be retrained, there’s going to be a great security waiting for you - a lot of job options - and if you’re not trained yet and you’re in college, it’s definitely something you should consider.”
Mondello says SRC is always looking for new hires such as computer scientists, systems engineers and programmers to name a few. She notes that in any given year, there are over 300,000 open careers in STEM, but only 150,000 graduates to fill them. She encourages students to follow their passions and especially in STEM careers.
“If you’re interested in STEM keep exploring. Keep looking. Stick with it even though it’s hard and know that the payoff at the end is a rewarding career that pays well and it’s a great lifestyle.”
To learn more about STEM opportunities in Central New York, visitcnystem.com.