Girls'+ Education

STEM Exposure Before College: Lessons from Partnerships with Cooper Union, Life Science Cares, and Weill Cornell Medicine

The Gender Gap in STEM

A recent World Economic Forum report found that women comprise only 28% of the STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) workforce, compared to 47% in non-STEM sectors. The effect of a gender gap in school persists into adults’ career choices.

Two people wearing white lab coats work at a table with plastic measuring cups and a bag of crushed fruit — *STEM exposure activities include DNA extraction from fruit*

Student Leadership Network’s Girls’+ Education team is addressing the gender gap with partnerships to provide students with early exposure to STEM subjects and women leaders in those fields. Students participate in programs and activities that allow them to explore STEM topics, see STEM applied to real-world situations, and build confidence in their abilities. Led by Cathlean Wheeler, Manager of Partnerships on the Girls’+ Education team, recent collaborations with Cooper Union, Life Science Cares, and Weill Cornell Medicine exemplify how community partnerships can enhance the educational experience for our students.

Hands-On Career Exposure at Weill Cornell Medicine

Weill Cornell Medicine’s Big Red STEM Day connected public school students across New York City with scientists, doctors, researchers, and other STEM professionals through interactive workshops. Many activities were led by medical students, offering a closer look at the joys and challenges of pursuing a STEM education and career. Nearly 140 students from six Young Women’s Leadership Schools (TYWLS) and Bronx Latin, a partner school in our CollegeBound Initiative, participated in several workshops, including:

Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare: Diagnosing Breast Cancer with AI Models
The Human Body Revealed: Medical Imaging Workshop
Food Science: Extract DNA from Strawberries
Fire Together, Wire Together
If You Build It, They Will Come
Hydroponics Gardening at Home
Computational Making with Microbits

Four students participate in a medical simulation using a mannequin arm in a classroom for a STEM exposure program — *Simulation of an intubation process*

Two students stand behind a table with 3D printers, a laptop displaying a colorful model, and filament spools at a science fair STEM exposure event — *Students share their science projects*

To cap off the day, TYWLS students proudly shared their own research through a science fair-styled STEM-posium! They made full use of the opportunity to practice their public speaking and presentation skills, sharing projects such as robotics and environmental science research with their peers across our network. Seeing interactions among students in high school, graduate and medical school, and the professional world broadened our students’ awareness of STEM careers and provided a more concrete understanding of the path from the classroom to a STEM profession.

Bring a Student to Work with Life Science Cares Day

Life Science Cares Day connected 350 high school students with ten companies across New York and New Jersey to explore the world of life sciences through hands-on activities, lab tours, and career conversations. More than 40 students from TYWLS Manhattan, Queens, Astoria, the Bronx, and Brooklyn gained valuable exposure to different areas of study and potential STEM careers in museum sciences, research labs, start-ups, medicine, and more.

A woman explains scientific equipment to a group of students in a laboratory setting for a STEM exposure program, with lab materials in the background. — *Life Science Cares Day included tours of research labs*

A group of students and adults pose together indoors in front of a digital screen displaying maps and weather information for a STEM exposure program. — *Students visit a variety of life sciences organizations*

Thank you to the following organizations for the warm welcome!

American Museum of Natural History
Alexandria LaunchLabs
Advanced Science Research Center (ASRC) at CUNY
Cure.
IndieBio
New York Blood Center Enterprises
New York Structural Biology Center
Princeton Innovation Center BioLabs
Taystee Lab Building, Innovation Triangle-West Harlem
West End Labs

Cooper Union STEM Day Bridges Science and Creative Expression

A hand holds a pink, hand-sewn plush toy with large blue eyes, a smiling mouth, light stitching, and a tuft of blond hair topped with a white bow — *A stuffed animal with electronic component*s

Science can also be used for artistic expression, as our ninth graders discovered! The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art welcomed students from TYWLS Brooklyn to its campus for a fun workshop on electrical circuits and design. Students designed and created their own stuffed animals with a high-tech flair, featuring parts that light up with just one touch.

Mr. Clague, a TYWLS Brooklyn science teacher and advisor who chaperoned the trip, shared, “It was amazing! We used conductive thread to make circuits sewn into stuffed animals we designed ourselves. The students loved the experience.” They also took the opportunity to explore the private college campus, planting the seeds for continued college exploration throughout their high school years.

Craft activity at Cooper Union
Attaching connective thread and circuit
Students show off their stuffed animals

How Companies Can Get Involved

Does your company or nonprofit want to partner with Student Leadership Network for educational opportunities? We are always seeking additional ways to increase STEM exposure, health and wellness, leadership development, and college and career awareness for our students. Please contact Cathlean Wheeler, Manager of Partnerships for Girls’+ Education, to explore how we might collaborate with you: [email protected].