MORAGA -- Like modern day warriors, the Orinda-Moraga-Lafayette branch of the American Association of University Women is using its collective intellectual brawn to smash barriers and myth-bust its way to extinction.
With a mission to erase the obstacles preventing young girls from entering science, technology, engineering and math fields, they plan to make females in science an everyday, no-news occurrence -- effectively putting their organization out of business.
"We want girls to stick with it," said Sandy Fox-Sohner, chair of the local AAUW's 2012 Tech Trek committee, which has sent 47 middle school girls to a science camp at Stanford University during the past 15 years.
Pointing to studies that show boys and girls have equal science interest in elementary school, but seriously declining interest from girls by eight grade, Fox-Sohner said the weeklong experience comes at a crucial time in a young girl's academic career.
The Lamorinda AAUW reviewed applications from 40 seventh-grade students nominated by their math and science teachers. Nominees were asked to write essays and complete in-person interviews. Six Tech Trek awards were granted, and at an April 22 ceremony at the Holy Trinity Serbian Orthodox Cultural Center in Moraga, the six winners received their awards and shared their essays.
Orinda Intermediate School's Anna Fields said she was not yet an expert, but was more like a cell, with an innate capacity for growing and learning.
Caroline Sernett, also from OIS, claimed science to be "perfect" because it offered an opportunity for taking advantage of her natural curiosity to "discover and delve deeper."
Two students from Joaquin Moraga Intermediate School had big dreams. Audrey Concepcion spoke of becoming an architect, and Maya Ramesh said, "Most girls have dreams of being a singer or President of the United States, but I have much bigger dreams," before listing Nobel Laureate and famous scientist as her own.
Stanley Intermediate's Morgan Rogers got the crowd laughing with an opening comment that her family's large numbers had made math a big part of her life from an early age and Cara Wolfe's enthusiasm for computer animation was infectious.
Demonstrating a remarkably similar exuberance and youthful energy, guest speaker Dr. Margaret Race, an ecologist who works with NASA through the SETI Institute, began her keynote presentation with a question.
"How many people know a scientist?" she prompted.
Without waiting for an answer, she said scientists are everywhere and all connected by one thing: curiosity.
Claiming to be "a late bloomer," Race spoke of spending four years in hip boots while numbering snails in San Francisco Bay ("Being a scientist is not always romantic," she joked), and of her current work studying the environmental impact and science policy issues relating to space exploration.
"For every cell in your body, you have 10 times the number of microbes," she said. "If we are walking bags of microbes, can we even go to space? If you have all those astronauts on the moon, is that harmful? What would be the environmental impact of bringing back life from another planet?"
Leaving unanswered questions to tantalize minds young and old in the audience, Race suggested today's outside-the-box ideas represent tomorrow's possibilities.
"Focus on yourself: do what you like. It involves lifelong learning, so just start," she advised.
The AAUW also presented scholarships to three area high school students and to Elizabeth Sandoval-Torres, a Fulbright scholarship candidate at Saint Mary's College.
Sandoval-Torres, capturing the afternoon's primary message, announced, "We are the designers of our destiny," before thanking her mother for moving with her from Mexico, where college was not an option, to the United States.
Annie Ye (Campolindo High), Samya Faiq (Acalanes) and Carlyn Wright (Miramonte) presented a triptych of achievement. With athletic and artistic accomplishments, extensive community service and GPAs of above 4.0 in common, the three young women prompted AAUW President Deana Davidson, in closing remarks, to say, "See? We're in good hands."
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