Research has shown that young women start leaving science and math courses during their middle school years, when social acceptance becomes more important than their academic interests. The American Association of University Women (AAUW) noticed this trend and set out to change it by encouraging young women to continue their interests in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) exploration and learning.
They developed Tech Trek camps, week long science and math camps designed to develop interest and self-confidence in STEM subjects. The program specifically targets young women entering eighth grade, and the girls spend the week on a university campus partaking in hands-on activities in their chosen core class, rotating labs, and field trips. This year, more than 1,600 girls will attend camps at one of the 21 sites around the United States. This year, AAUW added a core class in cybersecurity afterSymantec issued a grant of $100,000 to expand the Tech Trek curriculum. In July, the class was piloted in three camp locations– Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Stanford University, and the University of California, Irvine.
“Women make up just 26 percent of the computing workforce, but AAUW is working hard to increase that number. We’re glad to have Symantec Corporation supporting our efforts to encourage girls to consider the full range of STEM studies and career options, including becoming cybersecurity experts,” said AAUW CEO Linda D. Hallman, CAE.
Part of the experience is exposing these young women to careers available to them. Symantec's Mountain View, CA headquarters hosted two field trips for the TechTrek campers on the cybersecurity track, one on July 9th and one on the 16th. During the field trip, the girls toured the Symantec campus, learned about Symantec’s SSL validation, and how to tell if they are safe on a website. They also played the Symantec ‘Race to Stay Safe’ and ‘Protecting your Data’ games online.
During the visit on the 9th, the girls toured Server Lab A, where they saw server racks and learned about some of Symantec’s products on the Information Management (Veritas) side like the NetBackup Appliance. On the field trip on the 16th, the girls toured the Trust Services building where Symantec employees research companies who have applied for SYMC SSL certificates. They had the rare opportunity to see the Operations Center and the fingerprint and retinal scanners for employee access.
Several Symantec employees volunteered their time to talk about what they do at Symantec and what it’s like to work in cyber security.
“Working with the young ladies of TechTrek was a true pleasure. Their excitement to learn more about cybersecurity was genuine. Their level of understanding of our technologies was impressive. Who would’ve thought there are kids out there that believe what we do is cool? Time well spent,” said Darryl Cyphers, Principal Program Manager in Symantec’s Legal department.
A special thanks to Rachel Yokum, Darryl Cyphers, Jeff Cardoso, George Schnurle, and Alexander Hebels for volunteering their time presenting to the young ladies.
For more information about Symantec’s Community Investment, visit us on our Corporate Responsibility website.
Ashley Savageau is Symantec's Community Relations Manager.