Boeing Partners with Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas to Help Bridge the Gender Gap in STEM Fields
Media Contacts:
| Stephanie Hijazi Public Relations Manager at GSNETX 469-994-1629 shijazi@gsnetx.com |
Dee Russell Senior Communications Specialist at Boeing 321-289-8816 dee.russell@boeing.com |
Boeing is pleased to announce its partnership with Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas (GSNETX), including a $100,000 grant towards the Girl Scouts STEM Center of Excellence. The partnership comes in an effort to build the STEM leadership pipeline by supporting the advancement of women in STEM careers. The STEM Center offers year-round programming for girls to participate in fun, confidence-boosting STEM and outdoor activities. Boeing's investment in all space science and aviation engineering programming will open the eyes of hundreds of Girl Scouts in our region.
"The STEM field is growing quickly, and there's a tremendous need for more space science and engineering programming in our community to support it," said Jennifer Bartkowski, CEO of Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas. “We are excited to work with Boeing to provide more girls with new opportunities to explore these topics, help fill this gap, and support Girl Scouts in their future learning and career journeys."
As a leading global aerospace company, Boeing brings subject matter expertise to the Girl Scouts STEM Center of Excellence, which will enable the organization to address this educational gap in a progressive way. Corporate volunteers will have the opportunity to directly support Girl Scouts by helping facilitate activities and discussing their professional experiences, ensuring girls interact with mentors and leaders who can show them the pathways to STEM careers.
Boeing's grant will help fund the Starlab Portable Space Lab, a one-of-a-kind experience that brings space science programming to life. It is a critical component of expanding the STEM Center of Excellence space science curriculum, which is projected to serve approximately 1,500 Girl Scouts through weekend and summer programming and school field trips. The grant will also enhance GSNETX's aviation summer camps, allowing Girl Scouts from 4th-8th grades to explore topics including aerodynamics, rocketry, and physics through hands-on simulations.
"Boeing is proud to partner with the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas in helping prepare girls to become the STEM leaders of tomorrow," said Betsy Martin, Boeing Global Engagement Director of the Southern Region. "In order to solve today's most pressing challenges, we must promote gender equity in STEM as we need every idea to drive innovation forward."
Boeing's investment in Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas is part of its ongoing commitment to encourage and support girls in STEM education and careers. This support comes at a time when girls need it most–with STEM careers growing twice as fast as other professions and Girl Scouts Research Institute data showing that while many girls are keenly interested in STEM and often excel at it, they often lose interest as they grow older due to a lack of exposure. Through consistent opportunities to explore space science and engineering topics via hands-on activities, field trips, mentoring relationships, and more, this partnership will inspire more girls to pursue their interests and dreams.
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We Are Girl Scouts
Whether they want to climb to the top of a tree or the top of their class, lace up their boots for a hike or advocate for climate justice, or make their first best friends, Girl Scouts of all backgrounds and abilities can be unapologetically themselves as they discover their strengths and rise to meet new challenges. Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas serves girls and adult volunteers across 32 counties. To change the workforce pipeline in STEM and meet the urgent need for female voices, engagement, and leadership in the fastest-growing sector of the U.S. economy, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas opened the STEM Center of Excellence in 2018. The STEM Center is a 92-acre state-of-the-art camp just outside of Dallas where girls can experience programs in astronomy, robotics, coding, computer science, and more. Recently, the Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas Board of Directors was recognized with Dallas Business Journal's Outstanding Directors Award and received the Luminary Award from SMU's Annette Caldwell Simmons School of Education and Human Development. Learn more at gsnetx.org or call 972-349-2400.
About Boeing
As a leading global aerospace company, Boeing develops, manufactures, and services commercial airplanes, defense products, and space systems for customers in more than 150 countries. As a top U.S. exporter, the company leverages the talents of a global supplier base to advance economic opportunity, sustainability and community impact. Boeing's diverse team is committed to innovating for the future, leading with sustainability, and cultivating a culture based on the company's core values of safety, quality and integrity. Join our team and find your purpose at boeing.com/careers.
May 09, 2023
