Romeoville High School senior Faith Mancol takes advanced calculus and biology classes with the hope of becoming a molecular biologist and studying DNA to help cure diseases.
She's set her sights on fields that have largely been dominated by men for generations, but she said she was more encouraged after attending a recent HerWorld program.
Hosted by DeVry University, HerWorld is a national program that brings high school girls together with female leaders in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math, collectively known as the STEM disciplines.
Mancol and about 175 other students from 10 area high schools spent a day at Bolingbrook Golf Club, listening to and meeting women who had carved out their own successful niche in the STEM world.
Less than 25 percent of STEM positions are held by women, according to DeVry.
"It made me more confident about going into that field," Mancol said. "There's more men than women, but they are strong women."
HerWorld events reach about 1,000 students in the Chicago area this year, according to Destiny Quintero, associate director of community outreach at DeVry's Addison campus. A mix of female business professionals, STEM professionals and academics speak with the teens and help showcase career opportunities they might not have realized existed, she said.
Lyn Wunschl, program dean at DeVry's College of Engineering and Information Sciences, started her career 30 years ago as an engineer who designed and developed telephone switching systems.
Wunschl said she hopes the HerWorld events spur more girls to get into STEM fields, areas that America has fallen behind in during the past few decades.
"As we encourage more women in these areas, they will encourage their children," Wunschl said. "The more we have in technology and STEM careers, the better our country will be."
The jobs pay well and STEM careers can make a difference in the world, she said.
"The more adventurous need to step up and lead their friends along," she said.
To read the full article written by Chicago Tribune reporterGeoff Ziezulewicz, please click here.
