by, for, and about women in science, technology, engineering, & math

I’m not a STEM woman. I’m a creative writer. When I see numbers with a bunch of symbols as in any mathematical field from statistics to calculus, I freeze up. In high school chemistry I had far more interest in my amazingly good looking Hindi lab partner than in balancing equations. You get the idea.

Fortunately, I have brought into the world a well-balanced, 14 year old with equally stellar achievement in science, math and creative writing — a true hybrid of my husband and me.

She seeks a future in astrophysics or aeronautics, and to that end she is attending Physics and Engineering Camp for Girls at St. Olaf College in Northfield, Minnesota. The St. Olaf Rube Goldberg Machine team has been national champions, going up against major universities like Syracuse and Michigan. St. Olaf has a world class math and engineering department — very unusual for a small, Lutheran, liberal arts college.

There are many camps and programs for middle school girls interested in STEM fields, but not as many for high school girls.

Another source of great fortune is that St. Olaf is just 140 miles up the road from our home.

The camp runs this year from July 11-16. It would be a great opportunity for a high school girl interested in physics or engineering for next year.

We seek: the last bit of funding for Caitlyn to go. My writing practice has fallen off dramatically in the six months since we signed Caitlyn up for the camp. She has earned two small scholarships — one from our local Society of Women in Engineering and one from our local Kiwanis. She has some money directly from the college.

We need: just $300 more. Normally, I would consider the cost of tuition for this camp more than reasonable for a sleep away camp.

Between my husband’s illness this winter and spring and my own business falling off with many projects on indefinite hold, we literally do not have $300.

If there is another Society of Women in Engineering or really any group or individual out there who, in the next few days, would give a need based scholarship directly to the college for a very high achieving rising high school freshman to make it possible for her to attend this camp, I believe your investment would be most worthwhile.

Providing scholarships to this camp for similar girls interested in STEM fields at this world class college would also be a solid investment in nurturing future women in STEM.

Thank you!

email me here for more information:

lakewriter51340@gmail.com

For more about the camp:

http://www.stolaf.edu/camps/science/index.html