Page 8 October 30, 2014 TORRANCE TRIBUNE By TerriAnn Ferren Photos by TerriAnn Ferren On a beautiful Sunday afternoon overlooking the Pacific Ocean at the home of Athena and Tom Cormier in Torrance, I attended a fundraiser for Tech Trek, Science and Math Camp for Girls. Tech Trek is a program open Maymie Chenoweth, Committee Member of Tech Trek. Margot Sullivan, Tech Trek Committee Member. to seventh grade girls in the Torrance Unified School District, the Redondo Beach Unified School District and the Los Angeles Unified School District, promoted and sponsored by the AAUW (Association of American University Women). Science and math teachers nominate young women in their classes for a full scholarship and participation in Tech Trek, a one week experience on a college campus while they take college courses in science, technology, engineering, and math. For one week during the summer, after graduating from the seventh grade, the winners (two students from each school) are placed in one of several universities throughout Southern California. The students live in the dorms, eat in the cafeterias, and attend classes just like they would if they were attending the university they are assigned full time. The experience of living on campus studying fascinating subjects at a college level is not only stimulating for the young women, but eye-opening to what could be in their future. The dream begins when selected seventh graders fill out the application, answer questions, and then write an essay about why they would like to attend Tech Trek. Athena Paquette, in addition to being president of the League of Women Voters Torrance Area, is also president of the local chapter of AAUW until June 2015. The AAUW sponsors students from Torrance, Redondo Beach, and Los Angeles. Athena told me, “When I joined AAUW Torrance Branch, I got interested in Tech Trek because it is amazing that they send these girls on scholarship on a week-long university stay to learn about technology, engineering, or math.” Athena explained that all 12 middle schools in Torrance participate in the program. Teachers nominate the girls, then the committee reads their biographies and essays and the winners are chosen. Colleges participating in the program include UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, UC San Diego, Whittier College, Mills College, Sonoma State, and Stanford. There are 4 colleges in Southern California close enough for the girls chosen by the Torrance AAUW to attend. “Tech Trek started in San Francisco in 1998. The Torrance branch sends 30 girls every year. There are 140 branches of AAUW in California and we send the most of any branch. It costs $900 [for each girl]. We don’t have any administrative costs – we are all volunteers – maybe our stamps – but we don’t have any paid people running the program,” said Athena. In addition, Athena added that you cannot buy your way into the program. It is a referral and application process and in the end, the seventh grader doesn’t even choose where she will attend camp. It is all completely random. Each year in California over 800 seventh graders head off to the 10 camps on our college campuses to participate in Tech Trek. What, no boys? Each year Athena and her husband Tom Pam Kenoyer, Tech Trek Coordinator. Philip Ross, supporter of Tech Trek. donate a scholarship to Tech Trek. This year, Vicki Goorchenko donated a scholarship. “This is actually our first time. I’ve known Athena and she invited us to this fundraising wine tasting last year and she knows my background is math – I was a math major and I was a computer engineer for years and now I sell real estate and so I am really passionate about girls. I was the only girl in my class in computers back in the 60s, so I had a really soft spot when I was introduced to this. My daughter, Jennifer and I - the last year after this event, put our heads together and asked what Evyn Charles and Suzy Husner of Soulful Beach Groove. Cindy Dennis and Ruth Franks enjoy the afternoon. causes we wanted to donate to and sponsor and this was the first one we said we absolutely have to do. It really touched me,” said Vicki. There was a silent auction at the event featuring everything from Lakers tickets, a harbor cruise, donated wine, special dinners and jewelry, to tequila classes. The backyard was set up for a wine tasting with the experts from Amore Vino, Nichole Donoyre and Rudy Gallegos, on hand with Jean Philippe Molinari acting as ‘wine professor.’ The sounds of Soulful Beach Groove with Suzy Husner and Evyn Charles kept the atmosphere light and fun. Since 1999, Pam Kenoyer has been the lead coordinator of Tech Trek and heads up the Educational Partnership Committee for AAUW. She told me Tech Trek “started in 1998 and we said, where are we gonna get 500 dollars – we’re a non-profit. We don’t have a bunch of money and then the following year, because I am on Adopt a School Program through my company, we had a forum where all the partners came together and I was thinking middle school and these are middle school girls and this would be a great opportunity for some of these businesses to partner and be part of the program. We were surprised to get three scholarships that year and we were hoping to get one. We ended up with three and it has grown over the years to where we sent 410 girls as of this summer.” Wow, that is amazing. I am surprised I hadn’t heard of Tech Trek before. With all the seventh graders attending the program, I knew I had to find out more. The experience of going away for one week to a college campus is often the first time many of the girls spend away from home. Another thing Pam told me was that even though two girls will be chosen from each school, they will not be put together at the same college. They will be separated. The reasoning is that when they go to college, they probably won’t know anyone and the program strives to make the experience as ‘real’ as possible for the young women. Two years ago, Tech Trek went national. There are four states now participating in the program and the momentum is building. It takes lots of coordination by the universities, the organizers, teachers and students but the rewards are immense. At the fundraiser, Margot Sullivan told me, “I’ve been working on the Tech Trek committee almost since its inception. I probably started around 2000 and it’s marvelous. We started with three girls and now we had 30 girls that went to camp this year and it’s so inspiring to see the girls from where we first meet them to camp and hear their experiences and how they’ve grown. It’s made such an impact on them as far as their interest in science and math. We know it’s making a difference.” Pam Kenoyer also told me, “One of the reasons we target the girls at this age is because we want them prepared to know these are things they need to know and should do while they’re in high school for college.” Parents call up to tell organizers that their daughters often come home from camp with a new, focused attitude toward their studies and some even, if you can believe it, clean up their rooms upon returning home. Comparatively, the statistics taken before the girls go to camp and after tell the tale. Numbers like: 69 percent of the girls were thinking of a career in math and science before camp; that spiked to 96 percent afterwards and confidence to pursue that career went from 28 percent before camp to a stunning 61 percent afterwards. Cindy Dennis told me she heard about Tech Trek from her neighbor, Athena. “This is the first time [I have come to the event] to support. I am a mother of two daughters so I am a firm believer in math and science and we don’t do enough. Looking back, I’d have focused more on science and math programs outside school.” Steve Dennis told me, “I am a physics major and I think education, math, science, and engineering is damn important and the U.S. is falling behind.” Neighbors John Crayton and Nancy Welly attended the event and support the program as well. Philip Ross summed up the sentiment when he told me, “I’ve seen Athena at other social events and she invited me to attend this last year and I really enjoyed this event at her and Tom’s beautiful home in Hollywood Riviera and I enjoyed the wine tasting and talking and meeting new people, and supporting the AAUW Tech Trek to send 7th grade girls to camp at a college.” Gabriela Lozoya, who attended Adams Middle School in Los Angeles, was one of the participants in the 2010 Tech Trek camp at UC San Diego, and told me, “I am 17 years old and turn 18 in February and go to Orthopedic Hospital Medical Magnet High School [now] in downtown Los Angeles.” Gabriela, who had never traveled out of downtown, told me that her experience at camp changed her. “My math teacher nominated me. It was refreshing to find other girls were just like me. It was okay to be smart,” said Gabriela. She is now focused on science and wants to attend UC San Diego and study neonatal nursing. Elizabeth Babbitt, who attended Jefferson Middle School and is now at West High and was happy to talk with me about her experiences at camp. She attended Tech Trek in 2010 at UC Santa Barbara. “Back in Middle School I wasn’t as interested but after I went to camp [I] became more focused. I am [want to] majoring in mathematical sciences. My number one choice [of college] is Santa Barbara,” said Elizabeth. Both young women I spoke with sited this experience as a very important event in their young lives. The opportunity offered by Tech Trek where students study at local colleges is wonderful and certainly one experience seventh graders will cherish all their lives. It made me wonder if the generous group who sponsor Tech Trek would consider opening up the program to challenge seventh grade boys as well. What an opportunity it would be for all seventh graders! • TerriAnn in Torrance Tech Trek John Crayton and Nancy Welly. President of AAUW Athena Paquette and her husband Tom Cormier. Jennifer and Vicki Goorchenko. Rudy Gallegos and Nichole Donayre from Amore Vino. Steve Dennis, physics major and supporter of Tech Trek.
Torrance_103014_FNL_lorez
To see the actual publication please follow the link above