Tech Trek News By Mary C. Miller and Lori Franz

The Tech Trek committee is busy making plans to recruit students for the 2023 camp at UC Davis.

Plenty of new opportunities and changes have occurred at the state and camp levels.  We have attended zoom planning and orientation sessions and are managing the constant flow of communications. Committee members Gloria Yost and Kathleen Deaver have made initial contacts with two of our target schools as we await new brochures and materials from the state level. In short, we are ready to begin the recruitment process as soon as the resources are received.

A new look and feel for the 2023 camp season has already been unveiled, focusing on the “STEMpowerment” of all those who participate. We will be excited to send students for Tech Trek’s 25th year, and we thank our members for their long-term commitment.  We know participation has created many opportunities and dreams for the future for the girls representing our branch.

After camp this year, recent participants were invited to create a new program logo. McKenna Rose, a 2022 camper representing the Five Cities-Pismo Beach branch, submitted the winning concept. What a nice symbol to describe our role in empowering young women interested in the STEM fields!  (See the new logo below.)

Our branch has traditionally selected and sent six girls to the UC Davis camp. Although we would have liked to offer the opportunity to more of our wonderful applicants over the years, the capacity of the camp was limited. This year, we were invited to request additional slots; we have requested seven slots with the option to also send up to four girls to a “virtual” camp. Although the costs have increased from $900 to $1,000 per camper, along with $500 per “virtual camper”, our budget is sufficiently funded at this time.

Thanks to our board, this ambitious plan has been approved. We appreciate the past and future support of our members that allows us to resume participation in such a positive way.