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.

Tech Trek is Trekking along!  By Mary Miller and Lori Franz

 Excitement is building for Tech Trek 2023 and we are delighted to see our chapter participating again.  The Tech Trek committee has begun the process of promoting the program and recruiting residential and virtual campers for this summer.  Our target schools have been notified and provided materials. The principals and key teachers are eager to help us identify and recruit students.  Funding for us to recruit up to 7 on-campus and 3 virtual campers has been approved by the board. However, we have learned that there are 148 more requests for camper spots than will be available at the 2023 Davis and Sonoma camps. That means that every Northern California branch planning to send girls to those camps most likely would be limited to sending a maximum of three campers to residential Tech Trek in 2023.  We are disappointed, but remain hopeful that in the final allocation we will receive more slots.

Our campers will be attending the UC Davis camp to be held July 9-15.  The Davis camp will have a variety of on-campus field trips and experiences, including visits to the nationally known School of Veterinary Medicine. Also important, campers will live in the residence halls and have a great campus experience, which can be life changing for girls from disadvantaged situations.   Our chapter is part of the AAUW Tech Trek mission in California that in 2022 received over 1,500 nominations from more than 400 teachers at nearly 350 schools, resulting in over 1,000 applications from 94 branches narrowed down to nearly 750 selected and alternate campers.  We can all be proud of the opportunities this AAUW program creates for future women scientists, engineers, technologists and mathematicians.

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.

Kevin Eldridge – Tech Trek  Supporter Extraordinaire By Gloria Yost

Recently retired counselor from Will C. Wood Middle School, Kevin Eldridge, has a long history with Sacramento Branch AAUW and Tech Trek.  In Kevin’s words, “18 years ago, Liz Piazza came to Wood’s front office, spoke to the principal and (told) him about the Tech Trek program – there was no looking back.”  Will C. Wood girls have had the opportunity to attend our summer camps ever since.

Eldridge was born in Sacramento, and graduated from Luther Burbank High School and CSUS.  Prior to his education career, he has worked for the Sacramento Police Department and as a helicopter pilot in Alaska.  Of his 36 years in education, 32 years were spent as a language arts teacher and counselor at Wood.  His statement:

“As a schoolteacher and counselor, I have always been an advocate for opening our students’ eyes to the many varied careers out there just waiting for them, and Tech Trek has been a golden opportunity promoting just that. Because of AAUW’s commitment and generosity, many of our 7^th grade girls over the years have had the incredible opportunity to spend a week away from home at a college campus, meet others, and immerse themselves in science, technology, and engineering. I have always felt blessed that our school was chosen to participate so long ago.”

Kevin has assured us that his replacement, Michelle Carroll, is prepared to assist Will C. Wood girls as they apply for Tech Trek in the future.

Tech Trek Update By Charmen Goehring and Jo Reiken

AAUW Sacramento is sponsoring four of our 2020 girls this summer in the Virtual Tech Trek Camp! This new format will be interesting to see and we look forward to hearing from the girls at our September meeting. If you are interested in volunteering at this summer’s camp, which will be on a Zoom format, let Charmen or Jo know and we will get the volunteer application link to you ASAP!! Training will be available for all volunteers. Learn something new this summer!

Tech Trek Camp Goes Virtual! By Charmen Goehring

Overview: 2021 Virtual Camp Model

Core Education Components

• Morning project-based robotics Core Class led by trained AAUW members.
• After-lunch Inspiration Hour featuring speakers chosen for excellence.
• Interactive afternoon hands-on or interactive Workshops chosen for excellence.
• Additional resources and nighttime events for social activities, college/financial aid information, STEM speakers, etc.

Camp Delivery Program

• Three to four 2021 Virtual Camps scheduled between mid-June and early August based on camper enrollment (likely dates 6/21-25, 7/12-16, 7/26-30, and/or 8/2-6).
• Robotics kits to be distributed from several California locations.
•  Zoom platform with registration, passwords and breakout rooms.

Camp Staff & Volunteer Opportunities

•  A combination of interested branch members, camp directors and teachers, dorm moms, counselors and other volunteers.
•  High staff to camper ratio – 1:3.
• Several roles will be available – both in the virtual environment and on the ground; members can serve in one or more camps and training will be provided.

Currently, AAUW CA is working on building capacity for more than 1,000 girls to attend over the three to four camps. We will still need volunteers from our branch as well as others to make Tech Trek 2021 as successful as possible. More information will be shared as we receive it. The nominations process for campers will begin in January.

We would also like to thank each one of our members who made a contribution to our Tech Trek program this past year! With your support, we can show girls what a career in STEM looks like and encourage her along the way!