On Friday, February 28, 250 girls from high schools in the Phoenix and surrounding cities will learn about careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) at HerWorld®. HerWorld®, a national initiative of DeVry University, educates high school girls about the career choices available in STEM fields. The program also introduces the young women to successful female role models who illustrate how STEM careers are challenging and rewarding and possible.
Over the next decade, it is projected that STEM fields will create 2.6 million new jobs, yet women comprise only 24 percent of the current STEM workforce. While the industry has made some strides in piquing high school girls’ interest in STEM, one-third of women who enter a STEM bachelor’s degree program switch their major to a non-STEM field by the time they graduate. This year, HerWorld® highlights the important role mentors play in keeping girls engaged in STEM through high school and beyond.
When the class of 2014 graduates from college in five years, more than 8 million jobs will be available in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math STEM. Though STEM accounts for a majority of job growth in the U.S., the number of students enrolling in relevant degree programs in college to fill these positions continues to decline, leaving a gap of skilled professionals. In 2012 In an effort to close this growing gap, DeVry University launched a movement called STEM Ready, aiming to introduce more high school students to STEM and careers within those fields.?
At the HerWorld® event on Friday, March 1, 2014; Nicole Keeling, Homeland Security Investigations, Anti-Smuggling Task Force – Special Agent; gave the keynote address. She thought at first she wanted to study interior design but that did not work out well because she did not know how to draw and would not be able to create a portfolio.
One of her first jobs was watching out for shoplifters and was chased by a person with a knife who stole Twinkies. She stayed with those "other jobs" because they opened doors for her and her people whom she would later ask to be a reference. To get and to find your dream job "you have to do those other things". "Get out there. Explore." In her remarks she pointed out aspects of her job that use science, technology, engineering and math or STEM.
Being a female in a man’s world is changing for the better and it has opened doors for Special Agent Keeling. She told the high school students sitting under a tent on the Phoenix DeVry campus about one of her undercover assignments in a wedding dress shop that she and another female agent were on. Sending in a guy would not have worked so well. In another example, sometimes the tough guys have a change of heart when a woman suspect starts to cry. In a case like this, Special Agent Keeling takes on the role of "tough girl". As a female agent, she is not treated any differently than anyone else. She loves her job and likes the "arresting side" of her job over analyzing data for most of the day.
To read the full article written by Bette Sharpe, please visit GlendaleDailyPlanet.com.
