It’s Exciting times for Tech Trek! By Mary C. Miller and Lori Franz

The time to meet the vibrant young women who applied to represent our branch at Tech Trek Camp arrived on Saturday, March 18.

After diligent work by Gloria Yost and Kathleen Deaver, with the cooperation and assistance of teachers and principals at two middle schools, 10 applications were completed and successfully loaded into the new Campdoc system. Thanks to the assistance of Angela Scarlett, the committee was able to use the Dharma Center as a meeting place and interview location.  The girls, all seventh graders, arrived for their interview with eager parents accompanying them.

Selection to attend camp at UC Davis, or even to attend a virtual camp, is an opportunity that can change a young woman’s life.  It can ignite an existing spark of interest in STEM, feed strong interests in a field of study, or simply create an insatiable desire to attend college.

The committee’s task was to evaluate the students’ enthusiasm for STEM fields, the availability of opportunities to the student, and the evidence of curiosity and potential. Along with teacher evaluations and the essays the girls submitted, the committee then met to select the five applicants who would have the opportunity attend the residential camp and the five who would be offered the virtual camp.  Working together and assisted by committee member Monique Stovall, consensus was reached.  The letters are ready to go out to the girls, the camp directors have been notified and we eagerly look forward to the next steps of Tech Trek.

We encourage anyone with an interest in this important project to join the 2024 committee.