The Laspa Action Grants were established to provide opportunities for students to transform knowledge, passion, and ideas into action; demonstrate creative and effective problem solving; create partnership(s) in the public or private sector; and produce outcomes that make a positive impact.
Students partnered with faculty advisors to submit grant proposals, and the Laspa Center for Leadership steering committee, composed of students, faculty, staff, alumnae, and trustees, narrowed down the submissions to six finalists, and chose two grant recipients. Ultimately, all six proposals were funded through the generosity of trustees, staff, and friends of the College.
Helping Young Women Pursue Careers in STEM
By Hanako Yokoyama ’18
Today, women entering careers in science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) are underrepresented, and they must often face hurdles such as wage gaps and gender biases. In the field of information technology (IT), relative to the total pool of degrees earned, the number of women graduating in computer science has decreased from 37 to 12 percent since 1986. Grace Dahlstrom ’17 wanted to empower young women who are interested in IT but lack the necessary support to pursue their interests. So she used her Laspa Action Grant to partner with a Citibank internship program that equips high school age girls with the skills they need to embark on successful careers in IT.
Surprisingly, Dahlstrom is not a STEM major herself, but is majoring in American studies. She attributes her interest in women’s STEM education to a critical consciousness that has been shaped by Scripps through classes such as gender studies.
“It might seem out of place that I am so involved in STEM as an American studies major,” Dahlstrom says. “But being at Scripps has been pivotal in expanding my viewpoint to recognize inequity wherever it may be and to do something about it. I am thankful that Scripps has enabled and given me the opportunity to give back to the women in my community in this way.”
Working from St. John’s County, Florida, Dahlstrom partnered with Citibank’s Women in IT, which brings accomplished young women together for a six-week course in IT education and professional development. On top of advising the Women in IT interns on the college application process, Dahlstrom also used her perspectives and experiences as a student at a women’s college to provide input and feedback on the program structure and offerings. At the end of the summer, Dahlstrom and Paula Chaon, her supervisor and the Technology Talent Development Project Manager at Citi, presented the project to the Florida Association for Career and Technical Education Conference, an annual statewide teaching conference
“The program was really positive for the girls, and impacted them in so many ways. They not only learned to code, but also gained invaluable teamwork skills while applying knowledge in real-world situations.” Dahsltrom says.
One task the students were given was to build a robot that could accomplish a given set of tasks, with the end goal of presenting it to Citibank officials. With no instructions or guidance given, they became self-reliant, searching out programming tutorials on YouTube and ultimately successfully completed the assignment.
“Before the program, not a single girl could have built a dancing, singing robot that was able to navigate through an entire racecourse. By leaving the students to their own resources to accomplish an assigned task, it helped them realize they already had all the tools they needed to succeed.”
Dahlstrom also created a website to serve as a resource for young women interested in STEM fields. It includes information about scholarships and conferences as well as links to a host of organizations that offer support and guidance. The site is currently being used at Scripps College Academy, an intensive, multiyear, pre-college program that helps women with limited resources become first-generation college students. Now, with the Citigroup program expanding internationally to countries including Ireland and Japan, Dahlstrom hopes that her website will continue to expand its reach as well.
For more of our Laspa Action Grants series, click here.