Women inspiring girls with tools at engineering camp at Triton College
WHAT: GADgET Camp at Triton College
Triton College has kicked off its GADgET Camp – Girls Adventuring in Design Engineering and Technology – to empower and create an interest in engineering technology among girls between the ages of 12 and 16. Now in its second year, the camp will teach girls from Illinois, Indiana and North Carolina about product design and how to utilize various tools to create their very own “gadgets” in a field that is currently male-dominated.
The girls will get their very own tool set and learn to work with heavy-duty equipment, including a drill press, (with assistance, of course), as well as receive the opportunity to meet women working in the field and visit area manufacturing businesses.
Camp Director and Triton Engineering Technology instructor Antigone Sharris said only about 15 percent of students enrolled in the Engineering Technology program at Triton College are females, but she believes that opportunities like GADgET will fuel the growth she envisions.
Sponsored by Nuts, Bolts and Thingamajigs, GADgET Camp is currently the only program of its kind that the foundation currently sponsors. The camp will run from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. July 23-26 on Triton’s campus. This camp is full.
WHO: Girls ages 12 and 16 from Oak Park, Maywood, Elmwood Park, River Grove and various other towns in Illinois, Indiana and even North Carolina.
WHEN: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, July 23-26, 2012
WHERE: Triton College, 2000 Fifth Ave., River Grove, Ill., in rooms T-162 and T-160 of the T-Buildings
WHY: In today’s economy, more women are finding a place for themselves in male-dominated career fields, but the female to male ratio in those fields is still vastly large. Are women worried about being accepted into certain career fields where they are outnumbered by males? And could the society do more to encourage females to enter these fields? Triton College is investing in the education of young women by empowering and encouraging them at an early age to explore engineering with its GADgET Camp.
CONTACT: Marketing Office: Alicia Roberson, Public Relations Writer, (708) 456-0300, ext. 3608, aroberso@triton.edu
WEBSITE: www.triton.edu
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