Washington, DC (July 30, 2020) – This week GE (NYSE: GE) partnered with local small business STEMBoard to host a virtual STEM challenge for more than 35 students from McKinley and Howard University Middle Schools.
With its traditional summer STEM camp canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Washington DC chapter of GE Girls donated LINGO coding kits to more than 35 students that will help them learn the fundamentals of hardware and software design from the safety of their homes.
During an online kick off meeting, students and their parents were given a demonstration by LINGO founder Aisha Bowe of how to use the kits, as well as expert online coaching they can access through STEMBoard’s LINGO platform. During the kickoff, the girls also watched a compilation of video messages from Members of the Congressional Women’s Caucus of the U.S. House of Representatives, including Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX), Chairwoman of the Science, Space & Technology Committee; Rep. Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR), co-founder of the STEAM Caucus and Rep. Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-DE).
At the start of the pandemic, STEMBoard Founder and CEO Aisha Bowe, an aerospace engineer, met with her diverse team of engineers to develop the LINGO coding kit. Bowe said, “With an estimated 1.5 billion students impacted globally, our partnership with GE Girls STEM camp is part of our commitment to providing fun, hands-on, self-paced study options that will help curb learning loss, inspire a love of tech and encourage more girls to explore a future in STEM.”
“As an African American girl going to school in DC, STEM camp showed me a career path through experiential learning. I’m proud to help lead GE Girls today, to provide the same opportunities for students, despite the pandemic,” said Elizabeth Ivy Johnson, an engineer and Co-leader of GE Girls and Senior Manager – Customer Operations Manager-USCAN for GE Healthcare.
In the U.S. today, only 14% of all engineers and 25% of all IT professionals are women. Though women make up 55% of all college and graduate students overall, only 18% of computer science graduates are female, according to the U.S. Bureau of Statistics.
View original content: Source, July 30, 2020, GE