The Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley is partnering with EarthEcho International, an organization founded by renowned explorer and activist Philippe Cousteau, to create a pipeline of future scientists to tackle big environmental challenges.

EarthEcho International is launching a new program to connect female professionals in STEM (science, engineering, math and technology) fields with girls across the United States. Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley has partnered with EarthEcho to host a series of virtual field trips aimed at inspiring girls to embark upon STEM careers and increase gender and racial diversity in those fields.

“It’s incredible that this year’s Nobel Prize Laureate in Physics Donna Strickland is only the third woman to ever win the prize and the first woman to do so in 55 years,” said EarthEcho founder Philippe Cousteau, Jr. “We need to do much better than that. That’s why we’ve created this program in collaboration with United Technologies and a group of exceptional female engineers and scientists to tell their stories and encourage more young women to pursue STEM careers.”

“Many of the young women we serve are interested in STEM careers but the reality is there’s a dearth of women – especially women of color – in these roles,” said Matthew Nelson, CEO Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita. “We decided to partner with EarthEcho because we wanted the young women to have female mentors to look up to and ask questions about what it’s like to have a career in STEM. We understand the experience for women in STEM is quite different from men and we wanted to help make that connection so this won’t be a barrier for some girls.”

Olivia Blondheim, a 22-year-old doctorate student in Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida, is a member of EarthEcho’s Youth Leadership Council and is working on the virtual field trip programs. Olivia recently presented her research at a TEDx Talk and spoke alongside Philippe Cousteau at the International Symposium on the Effects of Climate Change on the World’s Oceans.

“I want to be a strong role model to give young women the confidence to pursue STEM fields. We need to show them a new face of STEM and to provide mentoring to push them forward. The science community has its own culture,” she said. “From how to write a resume to presenting yourself at conferences – there are important details to learn that are not just about research.”

In 2016, male students in K-12 were 81 percent more likely to be enrolled in an AP computer science class than females, according to the National Girls Collaborative Project. Once they graduate, women filled nearly half of all U.S. jobs in 2015, but held only a quarter of STEM jobs, according to Department of Commerce. The program seeks to diversify the STEM fields in terms of gender and racial representation. EarthEcho has partnered with other organizations providing afterschool programs for youth, including Love a Sea Turtle in Greenville, NC; MeckEd in Charlotte, NC; YouthPower365 in Vail, CO; and YWCA Hartford Region in Hartford, CT. EarthEcho is also organizing a STEM-focused video contest for the partner organizations with a scholarship prize of up to $2,500, provided by United Technologies, to encourage students to tell their stories in creative ways.

EarthEcho has been hosting a series of virtual field trips — scheduled between October 25^th and December 6^th – to be streamed on stemexplore.org and EarthEcho’s YouTube channel. Participants interact live with the featured mentor and are encouraged to join the conversation using hashtag #STEMEXPLORE. To view the full schedule and register for the virtual field trips, go to STEMEXPLORE.ORG.  Teen girls here in Santa Clarita are welcome to join us at either Boys & Girls Club locations (24909 Newhall Ave in Newhall and 19425 Stillmore St. in Canyon Country) as well.  The next two sessions are Wednesday December 5^th and Thursday December 6^th at 3:30pm.  Boys & Girls Club membership is not required to participate in either session.  Email [email protected] for details.

Ed. Note: This information was provided to KHTS by the Boys & Girls Club of Santa Clarita Valley.

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