This content was published: April 18, 2014. Phone numbers, email addresses, and other information may have changed.
Hermanas Conference introduces science to high school girls
Photos and story by Janis Nichols
On April 25, approximately 200 high school girls from Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro and Forest Grove will spend the day at Portland Community College’s Rock Creek Campus immersed in the language of science. The second annual Hermanas Conference, sponsored by PCC and Intel, is designed to attract Latinas to careers in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Students will participate in workshops in chemistry, physics, computer science, biology and engineering.
Monica Feliu-Mojer.
Mónica Feliú-Mójer, vice director and news editor of Ciencia Puerto Rico and Manager of Outreach Programs in the Department of Biostatistics at the University of Washington, will serve as the keynote speaker. Feliú-Mójer is widely recognized for her use of experiential-based lessons to make science and scientific role models accessible and relevant to under-served audiences. During her address, she will share her journey to a career in STEM, from growing up in a rural community in Puerto Rico to getting a doctorate at Harvard University. She will also talk about the multiple doors that STEM can open, from education to community empowerment.
In addition to the keynote, conference participants will also be addressed by State Rep. Joe Gallegos, who will discuss House Bill 4116—an initiative that provides scholarships and college success services to low-income and first-generation college students.
“We want to increase the number of underrepresented female students choosing to go to college by inspiring them to pursue an engineering and science education,” said Jessica Nazario, Hermanas Conference board member and Intel Software development engineer. “Many young Latina girls do not know what opportunities are available in technology, or what it takes to be an engineer, scientist or a technical professional.”
Since 2005, Intel has collaborated with a number of community colleges to expose female students to the world of science. Interested students should contact their respective high schools for registration information.
I am from Mexico, I came to Oregon when I was 17 years old. My family is having trouble right now, coming up with money for our only daughter to continue with school, she has a chance to make it and so do I her mother. But I rather watch my baby go to college than me. Because there’s nothing more important to me right now than her, she has been a very good student since kindergarten, and she hasn’t stop.I am dealing with a medical problems, she and my husband are the only ones I get support from as a family support. I myself was born in Mexico, I’m still trying to get my GED and I’m stuck there, plus I can’t work. But she is ready to start another college, but money is the issue, see we’re having a real bad financial problems right now and we already try all our options, to help her, but it didn’t help. My husband is looking for work even as we speak, and she is also looking forward to work for a year and than go to school the next year after that. All she needs is 13.000 for the whole year she is really trying hard and I’d worry that she might give up and I don;t like that, she is smart also she will be receiving her associates degree from p.c.c. on June 13, 2014. I have a question about the support with scholarships for college, someone told me that my daughter and I qualify because no one in my entire family has gone to college and I’d would like to know if my daughter or I will be able to get a scholarship through your programs. Please can you take a look of my case and see if at least my daughter can qualify, so she can continue with her career. I don’t count on my blood family relatives, for my health problem it all and is permanent and most of the time I depend on them. I am must likely to count and depend on my husband and only child, which is why I beg you, all member to review her case and help her make it easy for her to support herself and survive in the future, specially today in this crazy world and its economy.
I’d love to find out if opportunities and resources are also available for current college students. It seems like a very motivating and rewarding program. I’m Cuban and so far I’ve never joined or known of any groups for Hispanic women in college (not high school students) that I can take advantage of.