City of Tucson to Virtually Host Second SheTech Explorer Day in Arizona
The City of Tucson Office of Economic Initiatives announces open registration for Arizona’s second SheTech Explorer Day, to be held in a virtual format on April 22. SheTech Explorer Day is a one-day event that provides high school girls the opportunity to engage with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) through hands-on activities alongside industry mentors and encourages them to consider STEM careers.
SheTech Explorer Day is expected to draw approximately 150 girls from high schools throughout the region and will connect them with STEM professionals and higher education partners, including Pima JTED, UArizona, Paragon, FreeFall Aerospace, Microsoft TEALS, Edmund Optics, NP Photonics, Darling Geomatics, and IBM, among others. The girls will attend workshops hosted by industry professionals from these organizations and others, who will help students to gain the skills and confidence needed to eventually pursue STEM careers.
In addition to working with leading industry partners, students will hear keynote addresses from Katie Schwertz, Design Engineering Manager at Edmund Optics, and Susan Gray, President and CEO of Tucson Electric Power. The girls will also hear words of encouragement from Senator Sinema, Mayor Romero, and Vice Mayor Nikki Lee.
“We’re excited to offer this opportunity to our young women in Tucson. It was very well received last year, and we know how important it is to encourage young women early on toward future careers in STEM industries,” said Mayor Regina Romero.
According to Barbra Coffee, director of Economic Initiatives for the City of Tucson, a program like SheTech supports the local workforce pipeline as well.
“SheTech aims to inspire young women to pursue careers in fields that will help us grow and attract high wage industries to our community,” Coffee said.
With the launch of last year’s SheTech Explorer Day at the University of Arizona Tech Parks, Arizona became the fourth state to host the event. SheTech, a program created by the Women Tech Council in 2014, was first presented in Utah and now has chapters in Colorado, Idaho, and Arizona. The March 2020 event hosted approximately 150 girls and was supported by local industry and higher education partners.
“It’s that connection to local industry that is so important,” Coffee said. “When a high school girl has the opportunity to meet a young professional female engineer, she begins to see a pathway she might not have seen before.”
Due to concerns regarding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s SheTech Explorer Day will be hosted via Zoom. The event is presented with support from Raytheon, Pima Community College, Tucson Electric Power, BRINK Media, Pima County, Tech Parks Arizona, and Optics Valley.
Students, parents, or schools interested in getting involved with SheTech Explorer Day Arizona should visit the SheTech AZ website..
About City of Tucson Office of Economic Initiatives:
The City of Tucson Office of Economic Initiatives coordinates the city’s economic development programs for the purpose of attracting jobs and investment to the City of Tucson. The Office of Economic Initiatives also offers local small business and entrepreneurial assistance and encourages workforce development in order to foster a long term sustainable and diverse local economy. For more information or to contact the Office of Economic Initiatives, visit ConnectTucson.com.
About Women Tech Council: Women Tech Council (WTC) is a national organization focused on the economic impact of women in driving high growth for the technology sector through developing programs that propel the economic pipeline from K-12 to the C-suite. WTC offers mentoring, visibility, opportunities, and networking to more than 10,000 women and men working in technology to create business environments focused on high performance, where men and women can succeed. This propels individual careers and the talent pipeline by ensuring a strong, diverse, and entrepreneurial technology workforce. For more information on Women Tech Council, visit: WomentechCouncil.org.
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