Eighteen-year-old Lewisburg residents Mariah Drexler and Alanna Jacob co-founded Girls Need Space. The monthly program aims to allow girls in the Valley to feel welcome in the STEM community. They have hosted stargazing and moon observation nights, taught about women in the male-dominated sciences and, most recently, held a workshop to build model rockets.
“It’s important to find that space when you’re younger and knowing there are friendly mentors who will guide you along the way,” Drexler said. “You don’t have to feel you’re inadequate at a younger age or you can’t do something just because you’re younger. We can meet them where they have to be met. I really want this to be a mentoring space for those younger girls to feel comfortable to learn about STEM as they make their way through the school district.”
Jacob said she is inspired by the next generation.
“If a 7-year-old can use a telescope or build a model rocket, what else can they do in the future?” Jacob said. “It makes it so fun and rewarding.”
Drexler and Jacob said they noticed how male-dominated the STEM fields are and wanted to encourage female students to embrace STEM education.
“Everyone talks about women in STEM, and there’s a lack and a void there for girls to feel that safe space,” Drexler said. “Growing up, I found an interest in astronomy at a really young age. I came from a place of privilege where my parents were able to let me go to NASA Space Camp. I know those opportunities aren’t always there for other girls who live in our rural area. I have this passion and the ability to bring it to younger girls.”
The Women Tech Network reported that women make up less than a third of the world’s workforce in technology-related fields.
“The gender gap in STEM fields is particularly concerning when it comes to specific academic disciplines,” Women Tech Network reported. “Women account for approximately 21.3 percent of those who earned a bachelor’s degree in computer and information sciences, 22 percent in engineering and engineering technology, 35 percent with an economics background, and 39 percent in physical sciences, respectively.”
U.S. Census data demonstrates that female workers have made enormous strides in the STEM workforce, growing from an 8 percent minority in 1970 to 28 percent of all STEM employees by 2019, according to Women Tech Network.
“Despite the progress made in 2023, there is still a considerable gender gap in the GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft) workforce with women making up between 29 percent and 45 percent. On average only 31 percent of the GAFAM employees are female,” Women Tech Network reported.
LAUNCHING ROCKETS
During a session on Feb. 22 at the high school, Drexler and Jacob talked about Katherine Johnson, an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first U.S. crewed spaceflights, including Alan Shepard’s May 1961 mission Freedom 7. In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States.
For two hours, Drexler and Jacob assisted six girls with constructing model rockets and then launching them. They put together the models and learned about the mechanics of what makes the rockets launch before taking their finished products outside to the field to blast off.
Each girl had a chance to count down and press the button to release their rocket into the air.
Lily Peterson, 10, of Lewisburg, came with her mother Ronni Peterson to build the rockets. Lily said she loves outer space and has been working on robotics in school.
“We went outside and looked at different stars through a telescope,” Lily said. “It was really fun. We learned about different comets and different scientists.
Ronni Peterson said Drexler and Jacob’s leadership is inspiring.
“Seeing the high school girls run it has been nice,” Peterson said. “I feel like it’s really empowering for the younger girls to see older girls passionate about science and engineering. It’s been a really great experience.”
'EXCEEDED EXPECTATIONS'
Advisor Dillon Durinick, a physics, meteorology and astronomy teacher at Lewisburg Area High School, said he started working with Drexler and Jacob when they took astronomy in their sophomore year. They worked to seek funding from the Green Dragon Foundation and then reconstruct a telescope so it could be used again in class. They then approached Durnick and former high school Principal Paula Reber about the Girls Need Space idea.
“They’re amazing,” Durnick said. “I knew from having them in class they are two exceptional students. As we worked on this more and more, they exceeded expectations. I’m really proud of them for putting this together. I’m really proud of them to not be afraid to do it and put themselves out there.”
NEXT PROJECTS
Girls Need Space meets monthly. Their next workshop is for working on building the new telescope they purchased with a $6,600 grant from the Green Dragon Foundation.
“We are super excited to have a new telescope which will hopefully last the school a long time as well as some binoculars,” Drexler said. “The grant also paid for the model rockets we built. Hopefully, our next event will be operating the telescope and we are also looking forward to showing a movie called ‘Picture a Scientist,’ which talks about gender inequalities in STEM.”
Any female-identifying students in grades four through eight from any district are invited, Drexler said.
The plan is for the program to continue through several juniors when Drexler and Jacob graduate in the spring.
Jacob plans to study environmental science, physics or biology at Tufts University in Massachusetts. Drexler plans to study physics and computer science at Duke University in North Carolina.
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