Morgan Hill
– Molecules and microorganisms may not spring to mind when most
people think about the interests of teenage and pre-teenage girls,
and that’s one of the reasons why Tech Trek is so popular and such
an important part of what the American Association of University
Women (AAUW) does.
By Marilyn Dubil – Staff Writer
Morgan Hill – Molecules and microorganisms may not spring to mind when most people think about the interests of teenage and pre-teenage girls, and that’s one of the reasons why Tech Trek is so popular and such an important part of what the American Association of University Women (AAUW) does.
Five girls from the Morgan Hill School District have been chosen to participate in this year’s week-long program at Stanford University.
Alyssa Matsuhara of Martin Murphy Middle School and Nemerta Cherra, Karen Freda, Gail Wiselogel and Valarie Banuelos from Britton Middle School will stay in dormitories on campus while participating in a variety of classes and field trips.
Students will attend classes July 23-27 featuring hands-on experiments and presentations by women who are professionals in the fields of math, science and technology. One of the highlights of the week is a marine science boat trip on the San Francisco Bay.
“There’s one where we go up on a hill at Stanford and take a look at the stars, for astronomy, and I think that’s going to be exciting,” said Alyssa, who’s going to be 13-years-old in August. “There’s also a trip out on the bay to learn about the bay animals and fish, which will be fun.”
Aside from the fun-factor, there’s also a real purpose behind Tech Trek.
“I think they want girls to get involved in science and math and be more interested, so we can have important careers,” said 13-year-old Valarie. “I was never very good in math, and then this year, it just sort-of sparked for me. My teacher, Mrs. Ramero, made it fun, and I think the curriculum was good. I’m excited about Tech Trek.”
A class on forensics really interests Alyssa, she said, as well as several others, but the whole program is appealing to a girl this age.
“I’m really looking forward to experiencing the college lifestyle,” she said. “One of the girls who went to Tech Trek before told me about it, how great it was.”
The girls, who will be eighth-graders in the fall, are selected to participate in the program by the AAUW after they are nominated by teachers. The Morgan Hill branch of the AAUW raised money with its annual Wildflower Run to provide five scholarships.
The first Tech Trek was held in 1998, with funding provided by the AAUW Educational Foundation. This year, in keeping with its mission, which is to support equity and education for all women and girls, there will be six Tech Trek camps including the Stanford camp. Other camps are at CSU Fresno, Mills College, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and Whittier College.
