SWE Workshop Lets Eagles Showcase STEM Opportunities for Young Girls

Boosting the number of women working in STEM starts with igniting the passion of young girls for pursuing careers in STEM.

That was among the goals for the recent Introduce a Girl to Engineering Workshop (IGEW) organized and hosted by the Society of Women Engineers Collegiate Section at Embry‑Riddle Aeronautical University’s Daytona Beach Campus.

The free event on February 17 is part of a larger nationwide effort by the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) to get young girls excited about and involved in STEM. The Embry‑Riddle workshop drew 141 Volusia County girls in third, fourth and fifth grades for activities designed to challenge, intrigue and educate.

“Some key things that we wanted to teach the girls is that there is a whole world of opportunity for them within STEM and that there are many disciplines within the engineering field,” said Maegan Lucas, a Software Engineering major who was among the prime organizers of the workshop.

SWE Volunteers Step Up for STEM

Maegan and 43 other SWE chapter executive officers and volunteers spent months planning the event, and each had to complete background checks, obtain youth protection certificates and attend in-person training.

Countless hours were spent behind the scenes creating learning modules, tracking down materials and testing the experiments the young girls would do, said Claudia Ehringer Lucas, assistant professor of Engineering and the faculty advisor for STEM Outreach and the student SWE chapter.

“I am grateful for their dedication to providing this amazing opportunity to our local community,” she said. “The volunteers were kind, optimistic, reassuring and, most of all, enthusiastic.”

That optimism and enthusiasm resonated with the young girls who attended and left a lasting impression.

“I had so much fun and learned lots of things,” said Mila, a student at Pathways Elementary. “I met many different people and made new friends. I can't wait for the next event.”

“I enjoyed all three years I participated, and I am sad that I will not be able to participate next year,” said Hailey, currently in fifth grade at Tomoka Elementary. “But I look forward to all the other STEM opportunities that SWE provides throughout the year."

Events Engineered to Make Learning Fun

The SWE workshop featured five activities that the girls moved through in different groups. The engineering-based exercises focused on various disciplines and included an oil spill module for environmental engineering, balloon cars and paddle boats for Mechanical Engineering, spaghetti towers for Civil Engineering, and slingshot rockets and zipline balloons for Aerospace Engineering.

Each task required that the groups work together to understand the obstacles and create appropriate solutions.

“I was in one of the oil spill rooms, so my favorite moment was watching as the girls got excited about the activity and truly started to grasp the effect oil spills have on the environment,” Maegan said.

Seeing those “a-ha” moments happen for the young girls was among the top takeaways for Maegan, who is in her third year as part of the IGEW committee responsible for planning the event, which was captured this year in photos posted on the SWE at ERAU Facebook page.

“I got involved because I did not have much exposure to STEM fields as an option in school, so I wanted to be a part of showing the girls of Volusia County that they can do anything they set their minds to, especially joining STEM fields,” she said.

The Many Benefits of Giving Back

Although the intention of the SWE members was to give back, being part of the workshop also had significant benefits for them as well.

“It provides them with the opportunity to practice important skills that will be used in their careers,” Ehringer Lucas said. “To make this event successful, they must collaborate as a team by communicating, organizing and problem-solving, very much what the elementary school students must do in order to complete the modules our volunteers created.”

The ongoing success of the “Introduce a Girl to Engineering Workshop” highlights just some of the ways that Embry‑Riddle students are empowered to share their skills and directly impact generations that will follow them to college and beyond.

It is among the many opportunities students have to build hands-on experience and help shape the future while they are still earning their degrees.

“I am truly glad I got to experience this event for three of my years at Embry‑Riddle,” Maegan said. “I am excited to see the event continue to inspire girls within the community.”

Meet Some of the Eagles Shaping the Future of Women in STEM!

Jemma Amato

Jemma Amato is a junior studying Aerospace Engineering from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. This is her second year in SWE and first year on the IGEW committee. Jemma’s love for engineering started when a program similar to IGEW came to her middle school.

At Embry‑Riddle, she is also part of the Sigma Kappa sorority and a member of the Design Build Fly team. She is passionate about engineering and is excited to share that passion with a new generation of girls.

Ashley Cathon

Ashley Cathon is a sophomore in Mechanical Engineering with a double minor in Project Management and Computer Science. She is from Titusville, Florida, where she can watch rocket launches up close. This is her second year in SWE, and she was part of the campus events committee before joining the IGEW committee to help inspire young girls from all around to find a passion and love for engineering.

Ashley is also a part of the Microgravity Club and the RASC-AL Competition Club.

Grace Lavold

Grace Lavold is a sophomore studying Aerospace Engineering. She is from La Crosse, Wisconsin, and loves to crochet and read in her free time. This is her second year in SWE and her first year on the IGEW committee. She’s excited to be a part of the committee and help inspire and spark interest in engineering for young girls in the area.

Maegan Lucas

Maegan Lucas is a senior Software Engineering student. This is her fourth year in SWE and her third year on the IGEW committee. She loves to read and is always free to talk about books.

Maegan grew up in the northern Panhandle of Florida, where you can see practically all of the stars in the Milky Way, which started her love and curiosity for space and led her to Embry‑Riddle.

Reagan Muehlbauer

Reagan Muehlbauer is a sophomore Aerospace Engineering student from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This is her second year in SWE and first year on the IGEW committee. She loves to bake cookies and spend time at the beach.

Reagan is also a member of the Experimental Rocket Propulsion Laboratory and wants to help young girls find a passion for engineering and inspire them to achieve their dreams.

Katie Swenson

SWE President Katie Swenson is a senior studying Aerospace Engineering, and she is from Marietta, Georgia. She loves cuddling with her dog, painting and playing roller derby.

This is her third year in SWE and her first in an executive role. She’s learned so much from her role as president and was honored to have the opportunity to lead in the planning of IGEW. She hopes that each young woman found a passion for engineering and was able to recognize their strengths.

Ashlyn Thorpe

Ashlyn Thorpe is a senior studying Engineering Physics and is from Sacramento, California. This is her first year in SWE and IGEW. Ashlyn’s love for engineering began when she was very young when exposure to local STEM museums sparked an interest in space that has stayed strong ever since.

She is involved in the Amateur Astronomy Club and loves bringing the Daytona Beach community onto campus for Astronomy Open Houses. She joined IGEW to inspire young girls to enter the aerospace industry and nurture their love for space and science.

Cami Winkel

Cami Winkel is a freshman in Aerospace Engineering from Chicago, Illinois. This is her first year in SWE and her first year on the IGEW committee. Cami’s passion for engineering began in her high school’s Girls in STEM program.

At Embry‑Riddle, she is also a member of Women in Aviation, the Honors Student Association and the RASC-AL Competition Club. In her free time, she loves to go to the beach and spend time with friends. She is excited to be involved with the community and help bring girls together for engineering.