This is the second year that the American Association of University Women and St. Johns County School District hosted the STEM SPARK Career Day for 7th & 8th grade girls from throughout the district. It was held on Sat., October 20, 2018 at St. Augustine High School. Ninety-five girls and approximately 30 parents attended the event. There were twenty-two female presenters from a wide variety of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields. STEM was the focus of this day as there are much fewer percentages of females in STEM Careers than males and STEM Careers tend to pay much higher than many other career fields. Girls grow up thinking they are not as good in math and science as boys and the program speakers were there to prove that girls can be just as successful in STEM Careers as boys.
Each girl was able to hear from four presenters about what their careers entailed. The girls also heard from a panel of five speakers about what courses they should take and experiences they should pursue in middle and high school to be prepared to pursue a STEM Career. While the middle school girls followed this track, parents were able to talk to high school girls in STEM Career Academies and to learn how Florida Shines (mycareershines.org) is a one-stop free website for Florida students and parents to learn about careers, post-secondary education options, job readiness skills, etc. Both the girls and parents came away from the experience excited about the opportunities available to girls nowadays in STEM Careers.
