Four girls at Xavier High School recently took the opportunity to increase their knowledge of modern-day technology. Freshman Katherine Surur, sophomore Nattasha Smith, and juniors Freda Jia and Abby Scott participated in High Tech Girls Day hosted by the IT Department at Kirkwood Community College on Friday, April 7. The day included opportunities for local eighth grade through twelfth grade girls to explore the career field of technology and connect with their peers through different learning opportunities. Students involved traveled to Kirkwood for the day to experience three different technology-based sessions, discussions with IT instructors at Kirkwood, lunch, and featured speakers.

The three sessions included hands-on labs in computer hardware repair, computer science, fiber optics, and telecommunications. It also included labs in graphic design, network and information security, software development, coding, and website development. Attendees had the privilege of learning from local programs and technology enthusiasts, such as Girls with Ideas, and keynote speaker Jessica Bertling from NewBoCo.

“I’m definitely interested in a technology career,” Surur said.

Popular activities among the girls at High Tech Girls Day were programming and website development. These activities allowed the girls to get creative and use their own knowledge and skills to create something from their mind and translate that onto a computer screen. A STEM career, or Science, Technology, Engineering, or Math career, has traditionally been seen as a career dominated by men in the past decades. Programs like High Tech Girls Day are working to encourage all young people to not be afraid of venturing into a STEM career.

“STEM requires creativity,” Jia said. “Creativity usually requires a willingness to be open to novelty and innovation, and this event exposed me to how many different creative things you can do through technology.”

Xavier technology coordinator Mrs. Barb Miltner has first-hand experience in a STEM career, working as an engineer for 17 years before teaching at Xavier. This is the first year Miltner has brought girls to the event. Miltner encourages girls to take advantage of STEM opportunity.

“Girls are just as capable as boys when it comes to coding and IT, but in the past, gender stereotypes about the field may have prevented them from trying it,” Miltner said. “If they have any interest in it, they should go for it!”

Kirkwood also offers a similar program for young men looking into a STEM career. As the headquarters of Rockwell Collins, one of the top leading aircraft manufacturers and information technology services providers, Cedar Rapids has a plethora of opportunities for students looking to be involved in a STEM career.

“I’ve always knew that I wanted to do something with technology or engineering, and this event reconfirmed that thought,” Surur said. “There are places in Cedar Rapids developing new virtual reality systems right under our noses, and I think it would be pretty cool to be a part of that.”

These programs offer important opportunities for students to branch out in their technological aspirations for a STEM career.

Sylvia Clubb

News Writer