STEM J4G "Just For Girls"
What is STEM J4G "Just for Girls"?
STEM J4G "Just for Girls" is an idea founded and directed by Jaclyn Shimada, a second-year electrical engineering student at Cal Poly SLO and now a R&D Hardware Engineer in the Silicon Valley. Because of her passion to create and solve problems, she eagerly started this program to present STEM to youth in a fun, non-intimidating way. Through this opportunity, she hopes to encourage girls to explore, discover, or even spark an interest in STEM by designing various hands-on projects.
Why "Just For Girls"?
Multiple reasons exist for why these camps and workshops are only for girls. Some girls can feel uncomfortable and incompetent working along side boys who naturally have a different demeanor and tinkering ability. Furthermore, some of these projects require the students to work in teams, and girls at this age feel more comfortable working with fellow girls than boys.
Additionally, the projects also have a girly twist where they could possibly pass as "creative complicated crafts." This "back door" approach was one of the ways that Jaclyn wanted to showcase engineering where it can less intimidating!
