[297] Girls expand horizons at MTSU math, science event

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. — It may have been raining outside, but girls reigned supreme inside during the 21st Expanding Your Horizons in Math and Science Conference at MTSU Saturday (Feb. 10) in the Science Building and other university facilities.

Middle school and high school girls attended workshops, heard from mentors and keynote speaker Jennifer Williams, enjoyed hands-on experiences while learning about careers in science, technology, engineering and math and learned about college life at MTSU.

To view a video that is a collection of images taken during the conference, visit https://youtu.be/K7LQF5ejjRU.

Williams, who has been a part of EYH conferences since 2001, spoke about their futures potential careers in the STEM disciplines.

“We discussed opportunities in STEM and what careers are available to them,” Williams said. “We discussed how they can start preparing now, as middle school and high school girls, to be successful in the future as the pursue their career goals.”

Williams’ informative talk included advice about taking as many math and science courses as possible as early as possible and becoming a well-rounded individual by getting involved in organizations and clubs at their schools.

Chemistry professor Judith Iriarte-Gross, who is director of the MTSU WISTEM (Women in STEM) Center, is the EYH director.

“What a day,” Iriarte-Gross wrote in an email to EYH committee members Saturday night. “We persisted and showed a lot of middle and high school girls a possible future in STEM careers.”

To learn more about EYH at MTSU, visit www.mtsu.edu/eyh/.

MTSU has more than 240 combined undergraduate and graduate programs. Many of the workshops were closely related to departments in the College of Basic and Applied Sciences.