哥伦布市在美国排名第19位.S. job market list for STEM professionals, 然而,, less than a third of students who identify as women choose to study higher education courses in STEM subjects. Deirdre DeWeese ' 99, who studied public relations at 资本, is trying to change that through her role as vice president of Philanthropy for the Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland (GSOH).
“Girl’s confidence peaks by age 9, and it doesn’t reach that again in their lifetime until they’re in their 40s. Confidence is critical, and their STEM identity is formed by the third grade. If we don’t reach them early, we’re already missing the opportunity,杜威斯说.
“We [women] make up about 50 percent of the workforce, 然而,, 在STEM职业中, make up only about 28 percent of the workforce. If you look at STEM leadership, that number drops even more drastically down to 18 percent.”
Nationally, the Girl Scouts of the USA has challenged itself to add 2.5 million girls to the STEM pathway by 2025. 俄亥俄州中部, GSOH has answered the call with the Dream Big Transformational Initiative, a 220-acre immersive STEM and 领导 Campus in Western Franklin County at Camp Ken-Jockety.
“哥伦布 is such a growing market. 随着英特尔的到来, 谷歌和Meta, 和亚马逊一起, we have so many businesses that are growing, but do we have the workforce that’s going to be able to fill those jobs?杜威斯说. “泰米沃顿商学院, 我们的总裁兼首席执行官, and I went on a community listening tour to see what needs there are and how Girl Scouts can be part of the solution. We know that STEM is really important to this community.”
STEM领导力中心 & 创客空间将包括:
- Community space, science and technology labs
- Maker Space to learn trade skills like welding, mechanics and carpentry
- Greenhouse for gardening programs, including hydroponics
- Renovations to the Environmental Center to include the addition of a teaching kitchen for farm-to-table programming
- 户外学习空间
“这是一个社区资源. 我们不是单独行动. We are experts in girls, but we’re not experts in cyber security. We’ll bring somebody in to help us facilitate that part of it. For example, we’ll talk to Honda about a great automotive program. We’ll bring in those key partners,杜威斯说. “The Girl Scouts were founded in 1912, and we’ve had STEM as one of our pillars ever since. We actually had the electrician badge back in 1918.”
GSOH covers 30 counties and “on average serves about 15,000 girls with the help of between 4,000 to 5,000名了不起的志愿者. We could not do our work without those amazing volunteers who serve as mentors and troop leaders.
“The Dream Big Transformational Initiative is a $16 million campaign and, so far, we’ve raised $13.200万年. We’re working really hard to get to the finish line to close this campaign out. 建设正在进行, but we need those last dollars to make sure that we have all the program pieces and supplies,杜威斯说.
DeWeese figured out she wanted to work in the nonprofit world as a 资本 student.
“I had some great professors at 资本 who really helped develop what my career pathway was going to be. I did a radio class; I don’t know if 资本 still offers it. The show was called ‘Skyline 哥伦布’ and it was broadcast locally. I was the executive producer and in charge of creating the content for each show,杜威斯说. “I reached out to a lot of nonprofits locally in 哥伦布, because I knew nonprofits have tiny budgets and don’t necessarily have the best opportunities or resources to share their stories. Through that class, I kind of fell in love with the nonprofit sector. I really knew that was my career path.”
24年来一直如此, DeWeese has worked with nonprofits to create a positive impact in her community. She has served in many different roles, including senior development officer at Franklin Park Conservatory and development officer at the Mount Carmel Foundation.
“如果你看看COVID, 一切都在关闭, but nonprofits were busier than ever,杜威斯说. “Nonprofits serve the community in the best possible way. They know what to do and know how to do it best.”
To learn more about Deirdre DeWeese, visit http://www.linkedin.com/in/deirdre-deweese-575b5435/.
To learn more about the Girl Scouts of Ohio’s Heartland Dream Big Transformational Initiative, visit http://www.gsoh.org/en/support-us/dream-big.html.
To learn more about science at 资本, visit http://www.资本.edu/academics/biological-and-environmental-science/.