Daily Archives: March 2, 2015

Speech Trek: And the Winners Are… by Liz Jordan

from left to right:
Camrick Solorio – 10th grade, Laguna Creek HS – 3rd Place
Johanna Martin – 12th grade, Elk Grove HS – 4th Place
Kamra Newton – 12th grade, Monterey Trail HS – 2nd Place
Ciera Miller – 12th grade, Elk Grove HS – First Place.

The Sacramento AAUW Branch hosted its eighth annual Speech Trek Contest on Saturday, Feb. 21 at the Valley Hi-North Laguna Library Community Room.

Nine young people from five of the Elk Grove Unified School District secondary schools competed for place and prize money. They were:

First Place – Ciera Miller – 12^th Grade, Elk Grove HS Grade – $400
Second Place – Kamra Newton – 12^th grade, Monterey Trail HS – $200
Third Place – Camrick Solorio – 10^th grade, Laguna Creek HS – $100
Fourth Place – Johanna Martin – 12^th Grade, Elk Grove HS – $50

The next step of the contest requires a DVD of the winning speech, filmed during the competition, to be entered by March 1 with the AAUW CA Speech Trek committee. By March 10, they will have convened a group of judges to select the top five speeches from various California AAUW Branches. The top three speakers will be invited to speak at the AAUW California Annual Meeting, April 18, 2015 at the Manhattan Beach Marriott. There, students will compete for the First Place award of $1500.

MC Linda Patterson steered he program through each stage of competition. Our judges were all branch members who came to their judging tasks with many years of speech competition. They were:

Ann Arneill-Py, PhD, retired CEO of CA Mental Health Planning Council
Virginia Kidd, Communications Professor Emeritus, CSUS
Jenny Woltz, Graduate Academic Advisor for Bellevue University

Jenny Woltz and Ann Arneill-Py are both new members and Dr. Kidd is a long-time branch member.

The Speech Trek Committee wants to thank all the members who attended to support the students and this outreach program. Speech Trek , open to secondary student girls and boys, fosters the development of public speaking as an important life skill.

Board members attending were Cherril Peabody, President, Nancy McCabe, President-Elect and Gloria Yost, Program Director. Anne Rhodes, Hospitality chair, and her committee furnished the muffins and sweet rolls that kept the audience, judges and competitors all refreshed. Additional thanks to Kathy Papst who served as the Time Keeper.

This year’s Speech Trek committee was comprised this year of members Linda Patterson, Sherry Reser, Shari Beck, Liz Jordan and Ann Arneill-Py.

Preparations For Tech Trek 2015 Underway by Izzy Brookshire

2015 marks Tech Trek’s 17th year and its second year as a nationwide program.

Tech Trek is an annual, weeklong camp for seventh-grade girls that focuses on fostering their interests in science, technology, engineering, and math. The camps are held on college campuses across the United States and are organized and run by AAUW members. Every year, participating middle school science and math teachers nominate students they believe would benefit from this program. It is the job of a branch panel to interview and select campers to send to these camps.

This year, the AAUW Sacramento Branch will select six campers from two middle schools to attend the UC Davis Tech Trek Camp. The camp will be held July 5-11 and will host 88 campers from 19 AAUW branches. Campers will get to choose from core courses in genetics, engineering, anatomy/physiology, and architecture. The camp will also offer a core course in app development for the first time.

Co-Directors this year are Susan Wheeler (CHAR) and Dawna Hunter (Mariposa). They are working with an energetic team that has already recruited eight dorm moms and are on their way to conducting Junior Counselor/Senior Counselor interviews. Susan and Dawna are currently looking for publicity voluand welcome any members to participate. To get in touch with Susan regarding publicity for Tech Trek UC Davis, you can reach her at (916) 222-9299 or swheeler_1@yahoo.com.

As for our own Branch camper selections, volunteers are needed for the interview process, which is tentatively set for Saturday, March 28th, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., location TBD. If you are interested in being a part of the interview process, or in getting involved in Tech Trek, please contact Izzy Brookshire at (916) 995-0046 or izztherower@comcast.net. For more information on Tech Trek, including its history and success stories, you can visit aauw-techtrek.org.

Join the Tea Party by Gloria Yost

Help celebrate Sacramento Branch’s 95th Anniversary

Experience a little Downton Abbey as we celebrate the 95th anniversary of the Sacramento Branch’s founding and install our 2015-2016 officers. Committee members are busy making preparations for a delightful afternoon experience. Please mark your calendars for Saturday, May 16 from 1 to 3 p.m., at Rancho Cordova City Hall. Plan to bring your favorite teacup along with its story.

IBC Luncheon the Biggest Ever by Gloria Yost

Nearly 100 AAUW members and guests from seven local branches enjoyed the lovely setting at Plates Café to celebrate AAUW’s national efforts and listen to two Fellowships winners share their stories about their research and lives.

Cathy Knifsend, former fellow and Assistant Professor in psychology at California State University, Sacramento, shared her findings that girls’ participation in extracurricular activities and sports depends a great deal on what their friends are doing, whereas boys will join a team just because they want to play. Her research is ongoing. Cathy also asked about joining our branch and wants to get involved in Speech Trek, Tech Trek, and couples dining out, just for starters.

Jennifer Randles, a current Fellow and assistant professor in sociology at California State University, Fresno, investigates how social and economic inequities affect American families. Jennifer finds Fresno, with its diversity in people and incomes, a perfect laboratory situation.

Various IBC leaders shared current branch activities, and all attendees appreciated the opportunity to learn what other local branches are doing and share fellowship with others. This annual event provides a great opportunity to see up close how our efforts to support AAUW Funds provide real assistance to improve women’s upward mobility.

IBC Guest Speakers Jennifer Randles and Cathy Knifsend