Summer program encourages girls to choose careers in math and science 

Biology professor Laurie Robbins shows a snake to Master IT! participants Alex McGettrick, Norma Molina, Kayla Murphy, Lacey Tipton and Lauren Harrell.

Thirteen seventh and eighth grade girls enjoyed a week of test tubes, microscopes and experiments in Emporia State University 's "MASTER IT!" program.

"This is ESU's seventh year of hosting MASTER IT!, a camp for young women in grades seven and eight which encourages them to pursue careers in mathematics and science," said co-director and ESU math and computer science faculty Marvin Harrell. "This wonderful program allows these girls to have fun with math and science doing hands-on workshops with women professionals and university math and science faculty.

The program is also coordinated by ESU math and computer science faculty Besty Yanik.

"MASTER IT!" is an acronym for "Mathematics and Science to Explore caReers: Investigating Together."

“The girls did hands-on activities that involved mathematics, such as exponential growth, exponential decay, the geometry of minerals, and functions, and science activities involving chemical reactions, density, star gazing, magnetisms, cow's heart and scientific names,” Harrell said. “Women professionals led hands-on workshops related to careers such as being a family doctor, an environmental scientist, a chiropractor, or an engineer.  These workshops investigated a simulating a spill that contaminates ground water, making dental molds of the student participants, placing a cast on a pop bottle, suturing a pig's foot, and examining the impact of daily objects on our overall well being.”

Throughout the week, the students lived in residence halls with college women chaperones and got an early taste of university living.

“The purpose of MASTER-IT is to encourage young women to continue their studies in mathematics and the sciences and to consider careers in these areas.  Not only does this program benefit these young women by showing them a variety of career opportunities related to mathematics and the sciences, but if we are successful in the long run, it directly benefits the State of Kansas by providing an educated workforce in technologically-related areas,” Harrell said.

This group will have another chance to come together with a follow-up session at ESU's "Expanding Your Horizons in Science and Math" conference in March.

MASTER IT! participants were:

Lebo: Conor Bray

Emporia: Olivia Coulson, Lauren Harrell

Lawrence: Gabriel Haas, Morgan Manger

Marysville: Dawn Greenlee

Wichita: Alex McGettrick, Hope Steiner

Kansas City: Norma Molina, Celeste Trevino

Belle Plaine: Kayla Murphy

Florence: Elizabeth Nesser

Arkansas City: Lacey Tipton

Last Updated July 2, 2007>