Today, more than 200 girls from seven West Virginia counties participated in Introduce a Girl to Engineering Day at the Columbia Gas Transmission Auditorium in Charleston.
Hosted by Bridgemont Community and Technical College, the annual event is part of National Engineers Week and is more commonly known as “Girl Day.” Girl Day teams 8th grade girls up with female engineers to celebrate the accomplishments of women in engineering, tackle interesting experiments and learn about the field.
“We’re getting middle-school girls here to explore careers in engineering and technology,” said Dr. Beverly Jo Harris, President of Bridgemont Community and Technical College. “Conducting experiments with women engineering professionals may be a turning point in their thoughts about the types of careers available to them.”
And it’s an effective program. Dr. Harris told the story of a young lady who attended the very first Girl Day hosted by Bridgemont. More than half a decade later, that same student is pursuing a career in engineering.
“She said Girl Day made a lasting impact. It’s exciting to hear that firsthand,” she said.
Check out photos from this year’s Girl Day on Flickr.