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Girls get to do some hands-on science The annual symposium targets middle school students because they tend to drop out of math and the sciences By MEG LANDERS Mail Tribune Thirteen-year-old Randiegh Beasley is excited about her career opportunities. "I want to be an associate professor at (Southern Oregon University), or a computer consultant or an author," says the Grants Pass resident, adding, "I'm going to be the first person in my family to graduate from college." Getting girls excited about science was the goal of Saturday's annual science symposium sponsored by Advocates for Women in Science, Engineering and Mathematics (AWSEM) and Youth Programs at Southern Oregon University. Laura Hummel, age 15, says she's drawn to the medical field. "I want to work in pediatrics or something," she says, adding that nursing seems appealing. In its sixth year, the conference held at SOU gave 106 girls from Jackson and Josephine counties the chance to see first-hand what professional female scientists do. Nine specialists, working in such fields as hydrology, biology, forensic science, medicine and computer technology presented short, interactive workshops to seventh- and eighth-grade girls who are interested in careers in science, engineering, mathematics and technology. Ranging from listening to the heartbeat of a fetus to studying a polar bear in a forensics lab to digitizing sounds, the workshops gave girls the opportunity to have hands-on experience in fields of interest. Many of the girls who attend the annual event will be first-generation college students, and seeing positive role models in action is important, say organizers. Carol Jenson, the director of Youth Programs at SOU, says seventh- and eighth-graders are targeted specifically. "Girls drop out of math and science at middle-school age," she says, adding that such a decision can affect their futures and that they can end up cutting themselves out of top-paying careers. One of the presenters, Dr. Jani Rollins, has a family practice in Ashland. She says she is hoping through the workshop to demonstrate that her job is fun and that women can do whatever they want. "I put myself through school," she says. "I got straight A's so I could get scholarships." Rollins says she believes that the female influence has been good for medicine and would like to see more women enter the field. Organizers say that peer pressure remains a major obstacle to a girl's success in science classes. A lot of girls shy away from being seen as smart in the sciences, says Jenson. And that's one of the messages of the symposium, she said, that science is cool. Reach reporter Meg Landers at 776-4481 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.