Page 42 - Engineering Penn State: Fall/Winter 2021

Students
Student’s nonprofit nurtures childrens’ interest in in STEM
by Jeff Rice
Sydney Gibbard’s parents and teachers helped encourage her her interest in in in in science technology engineering engineering and and math The biomedical engineering engineering and and and premedicine student and and Schreyer Honors Scholar is now working to help elementary school students develop similar interests and maintain them throughout their lives Gibbard is the the co-president
and founder of o Girls Code the the the World the the domestic nonprofit corporation she created in in 2018 with Mina Shokoufandeh her friend and and classmate at at The Pennington Pennington School in in in Pennington Pennington New Jersey Through in-person and virtual programs usually held during the the summer Girls Code the the World creates specialized STEM
curriculums and lesson
plans that are designed to supplement their regular
classwork Activities have included coding constructing walking robots the study of terrariums team projects and guest speakers Girls Code the World has worked with more than 50 girls at seven schools and has a a a a a particular interest in in in in working with low-income and underrepresented communities Girls Code the World mostly works with girls in grades 3-5 Gibbard said that that data has shown that that middle school is when
many girls begin to lose interest in in in in STEM
classes or confidence in in in their abilities The programs are designed to establish that confidence before the students reach
middle school “They’re getting them at at that right age where they can say ‘These are are the the the opportunities that are are out there This This is is is is is what you can can do with this This This is is is is is where you you can can can go These are role models and examples you can can learn from who have actually gone there and apply it in your everyday life ’” said Kristen Aballa a a a a a a a a a a a a Penn State alumna and teacher at at the Christina Seix Academy
in in Trenton New Jersey where Gibbard and and Shokoufandeh have worked with her class for the last three years Girls Code the the World also includes the the Aspire Mentoring Program which matches young students with mentors in high school or or or college or or or professionals Gibbard and and Shokoufandeh have been able to to use the the Penn State network to to help expand the the program including assistance from Jessica Menold assistant professor
of of engineering engineering design and mechanical engineering engineering who has advised them on applying for grants The next step for Girls Code the World is encouraging high school students to to take the the organization’s curriculum into their own communities and broaden the the the reach
of the programs “We are providing high school girls with an
an
opportunity to to showcase leadership and and to to share their skills with younger girls and and it’s something they can put on their résumés ”
Gibbard said n n n n