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Opening new doors

ASEE Prism, Sep 2002 by Drenning, Erin

Jennifer McDaniel grew up believing that only men became engineers. But then her paradigm changed.

At the urging of a high school teacher, she attended a national program called Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) that encourages young women to take courses-and to consider career options-in math and science.

"The program opened up opportunities I hadn't considered," says McDaniel, who now works for Agere Systems in Orlando and co-chairs an annual EYH conference at the University of Central Florida. "If it wasn't for EYH, I would not have been an engineer, because the picture that's always been painted for me is that engineers are men," she says. "Seeing women who were successful in a traditionally male-dominated field changed my outlook. If they could do it, so could L"

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McDaniel's "can do" response is what EYH ideally hopes for from all its participants. Considering its roots, that's not surprising. EYH was one of four intervention models created in the mid-1970s by the Math/Science Network, an Oakland, California-based organization that strives to increase the number of women in math- and science-related professions. The network was founded by women in industry who had few, if any, female peers and by math educators who saw few females in classes that weren't required.

"We began to license EYH out nationally in the early 1980s with the idea that people everywhere could do this and that women in math and science would be happy to volunteer," says Betty Levitin, executive director of the Math/Science Network.

Today, more than 100 conferences are held annually in 30 states, usually at universities or colleges. To date, more than 525,000 students, mainly middle schoolers, have participated. The conferences, which are funded and planned locally, generally include a keynote speaker as well as various hands-on and informational workshops led by women scientists, mathematicians, and engineers. Some conferences also offer workshops for parents that include discussions on financial aid and how to help a child study.

"The biggest supporters have been the women in the community who come and participate, the doctors, engineers, and professors," says Lucy Morse, who started EYH at the University of Central Florida in 1984 after becoming the first woman there to get a Ph.D. in engineering. Major organizers of these conferences include the Society of Women Engineers, the American Association of University Women, and the Association for Women in Science.

But even in 2002, some young women still lack the encouragement to go into math or science, says Morse. "I still think there a lot of people who aren't convinced that women can go into those fields...We've got to get young women to take those courses so that if they decide to go into a math or science field at some point, they're not left behind."

With that goal in mind, EYH is not only designed for students who are college-bound but also for students who may choose to practice a skilled trade or get a technical degree.

"I would hope that all of these young women would get at least a BA, but I also know the reality of America in the 21st century," says Levitin. "The more math they take, the better off they'll be, and the better the opportunity to advance in a job of any kind, even if it's the difference between a sales clerk and a manager. But I mostly want to hear about young people who become engineers."

Elizabeth Wheeler is one such participant who became an engineer. She enthusiastically remembers her first encounter with EYH. After all, the keynote speaker was Sally Ride. "My impression of the program was that you could be a woman in science and not be a stereotypical geek," says Wheeler, who received her Ph.D. in chemical engineering at Stanford and works at the Lawrence-Livermore National Lab in California. "I was bowled over by Sally Ride, that she would take time out of her busy schedule. She told us if we sent her a stamped envelope, she would send back an autographed picture. I still, to this day, have the picture."

Wheeler, like other former participants, is giving back to the program that set her on her current path by volunteering. She co-chairs an EYH program in San Ramon, Calif. "I get so much enjoyment out of the hands-on workshops," she says. "It reminds me again why science is fun."

Erin Drenning is an associate editor for Prism. She can be reached at e.drenning@asee.org. Alice Daniel is a freelance writer in Fresno, Calif., and a journalism instructor at California State, Fresno. She can be reached at adaniel@asee.org.

Opening new doors

ASEE Prism, Sep 2002 by Drenning, Erin

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