STEM Careers in Focus at Conference for Over 800 7th Grade Girls

An estimated 814 middle school girls will converge on the South Dakota Mines campus from 9 a.m. to 2:35 p.m. on Tuesday, March 14, for the annual Women in Science Conference. The keynote address will take place in the Goodell Gym while the exhibit hall will be in the Fraser Gym with other speakers spread across the Mines campus.

The immersion-based experience is designed to provide young women with engaging opportunities to learn about careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

A wide range of STEM careers will be demonstrated by professional women leading interactive exhibits and discussions. Among the speakers are engineers, physicians, dentists, meteorologists, science educators, veterinarians, geologists and accountants.

Sharlissa Moore, Ph.D., environmental justice and stakeholder engagement advisor at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, will offer the keynote address. More can be found on Moore here.

Every 7^th grade girl in the Rapid City Area School District will attend as well as girls from American Horse School, Custer, Douglas, Edgemont, Hermosa, Hill City, Hot Springs, Isna Wica Owayawa (Loneman), Kadoka, Little Wound, New Underwood, Red Cloud, St. Thomas More and Wall as well as homeschooled students.

The program is hosted by Youth in Science Rapid City, Inc. and co-sponsored by Mines' Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) program and funded by grants and community partners.