On Nov. 6, about 80 young girls from Don Estridge and Eagles Landing Middle School climbed off their buses to be greeted by the young ladies from the Olympic Heights Engineering Academy who were waving brightly colored flags to celebrate a special event called G.E.T. Day. Girl Engineers of Tomorrow was an event planned entirely by Engineering Academy teacher Ms. Nirma Arunachalam (Miss Nimmi) and her Engineering Academy students to empower girls at an early age to thrive in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) driven career paths.

A study of Women in STEM fields conducted by Florida Gulf Coast University and the University of Colorado revealed that an interest in science is clearly evident in elementary school by both girls and boys. But as students continue to grow, the study records that “gender differences in attitudes and interest surface in middle school” and “many girls who take advanced science courses in high school do not continue to study science in college. Disparities persist despite women’s interest in STEM fields.”

Miss Nimmi and the engineering academy decided to do their part to rectify this by planning out the whole day with fun-filled events and inspiring female speakers from the field of engineering.

“We wanted to give the eighth grade girls who visited us a glimpse of the fascinating STEM opportunities that are available to them,” explained Miss Nimmi. “We hope to make this an annual affair, since change does not happen overnight. Mindsets change over time, and eventually water does break rocks!”

Among the speakers at the opening of the event were Ms. Cristina Chiera of GeoSyntech Consultants, Ms. Oceane Boulais of Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering, and Ms. Madison Kistler of the University of Central Florida’s Outreach for Aeronautics and Astronauts.

The OH Engineering Academy girls also brought out the numerous trophies they have won at competitions and put props of their projects on display. The middle school girls were then put into six groups, with each group being taught by the Engineering Academy girls about civil construction and engineering through programming games such as “Lightbot” and other hands-on activities.

“Something happens between elementary school and middle school that makes girls not want to voice their opinion about engineering and express their interest in it,” said Shayna Soares, an Engineering Academy senior, who was a group leader in the event. “So the event was meant to inspire them and show them what engineering really is.”

The event’s closing speaker was former OH Engineering Academy student and class of 2015 salutatorian Sarah Curtis. Curtis’s address was delivered via video as she is currently in Cambridge, Mass. where she is a freshman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

G.E.T. Day was all about including girls in a world where they can succeed – where they can grow up to be accomplished in science – without the stigma that is still somewhat of an occupational hazard for a female engineer. By instilling the idea that girls can choose a male-dominated career path, our society can continue to benefit from the brilliant minds of women who may not have pursued their aspirations because of stereotypical gender roles. Our world needs more Sally Ride’s and more Margaret Hamilton’s. Because a young girl sitting in her middle school science class might need some guidance in chasing her interests no matter how “masculine” they seem to be.

Girls Who Code, a club at OH for which Soares serves as president, holds the same ideals. This club offers girls the opportunity to learn about computer programming and coding in a friendly environment after school. The clubs philosophy is that although not commonly pushed towards STEM fields, girls should have the opportunity to follow them.

Events such as G.E.T. Day and small clubs like Girls Who Code proves that our school can play a small part in expanding women’s roles in the STEM field and raise an enthusiastic group of girls who want to help improve our world.