Projects

“Tech Trek” – Residential summer scholarship camp for 8th grade girls
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Career Conference – Dynamic career conference for middle-school girls
AAUW Fellowships Fund – Advancing educational and professional opportunities for women.
AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund – Offers legal assistance to women in academia

“Tech Trek”

Tech Trek is a one-week residential summer scholarship camp for rising eighth graders which was founded in 1998 with start-up funds from an AAUW Educational Foundation Community Action Grant. The camp was designed to encourage young women to continue studying science and math in middle school and beyond. An AAUW Educational Foundation research report, “Shortchanging Girls, Shortchanging America,” indicated that young women tended to drop out of these courses during the middle school years.

Each campership is paid by AAUW Long Beach through donations from its members.  If you would like to make a tax-deductible contribution for Tech Trek, please email AAUW Long Beach at AAUWLongBeach@gmail.com for more information.

Tech Trek girls creating edible DNA and learning about spiders

   

Tech Trek’s goals are:

  1. to encourage young women of all backgrounds who are entering 8th grade to take math and science courses each year throughout high school
  2. to motivate these students to attend college
  3. to inspire young women to consider careers in science, technology, engineering or math

The selection process begins with the Tech Trek committee identifying Title I schools in the Long Beach Unified School District for candidates.  The school’s principal is then notified of the program and requested to provide the name(s) of science and/or math teachers who would act as a focal point.  The teacher then recommend girls who would benefit from our camp.  The girls are requested to write a two-page essay detailing why they would like to attend our camp.  The committee members interview the nominated girls.  We then meet to determine our nominees and alternatives for camp.

For more information about Tech Trek, go to the web site below:

Click here to go to Tech Trek’s Website.

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Career Conference

Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Career Conference is organized by AAUW-Long Beach, held at Long Beach City College, Liberal Arts Campus. Women with careers in math, science, technology and engineering present workshops to middle-school girls to excite them about the possibilities of such careers and encourage them to attend college.

A dynamic keynote speaker starts the conference with a message about overcoming obstacles and reaching your dream. The girls then participate in two workshops of their choice to hear the details about careers, such as chemical engineer, marine biologist, coroner, nurse or financial planner and to try out sample hands-on activities. Over the past 7 years, more than 650 girls have participated in the program. 60-plus volunteers, comprised of AAUW Long Beach members and others, provide the support to put on this excellent conference.

Girls are registered through a variety of non-profit afterschool programs and Long Beach schools and attend as members of closely supervised groups. The February 2011 Conference partnered with the Conservation Corps of Long Beach, YMCA of Greater Long Beach, Bancroft  Middle School, Hill Middle School, Jordan High School WRAP program, Constellation Middle School, Jefferson Leadership Academies, and Colin Powell Academy to enroll, transport, and supervise these fortunate young women.

 

AAUW Educational Opportunities Fund

AAUW has a long and distinguished history of advancing educational and professional opportunities for women in the United States and around the globe. One of the world’s largest sources of funding for graduate women, AAUW is providing more than $3.7 million in funding for more than 240 fellowships and grants to outstanding women and nonprofit organizations in the 2011-12 academic year. Due to the longstanding, generous contributions of AAUW members across the U.S., a broader community of women continues to gain access to educational and economic opportunities — breaking through educational and economic barriers so that all women have a fair chance.

For more information go to AAUW.org

AAUW’s Legal Advocacy

LAF works to combat sex discrimination through community and campus outreach programs, a resource library and online advocacy tools, a Legal Referral Network, and various research reports. In collaboration with the Public Policy and Government Relations department, LAF seeks amicus curiae opportunities in workplace sex discrimination cases. LAF also provides support to workplace sex discrimination cases that have the potential to make a difference for all women.