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Young Women’s Aviation, Construction, and Engineering Academy

OraLynn Manweller, Amy Hoover, William Bender Central Washington University

Abstract

The Young Women’s Aviation, Construction and Engineering (ACE) Academy was instituted this year at Central Washington University. Our goal is to increase the number of young women who choose to pursue education and enter the workforce in these technical fields. The Academy is a 3-day, 2-night summer weekend academy that provided hands on learning experiences and activities to spark career interest in these fields. The academy will be offered in subsequent years, and the success of the program will be evaluated after three years.

Introduction

Central Washington University (CWU) is a state-supported university that serves approximately 8,000 students, including graduate students. In the Industrial and Engineering Technology department, there are eight majors offered to students. Among these choices are Mechanical Engineering Technology, Flight Technology and Construction Management. In all of these programs, women are underrepresented. It became important to work towards a more diverse composition of students. The ACE Academy evolved from this necessity.

In the summer of 2004, 23 girls (age 13-16) were accepted at the workshop. Next year, the camp will be expanded to 36. The academy begins on a Friday afternoon with girls getting to know each other and learning what the weekend is all about. Saturday and Sunday morning consists of workshops where the girls are exposed to each of the three professions (aviation, construction, and engineering). They spend four hours examining each career option, with no more than twelve girls in each group. The activities range from flying an airplane to designing a pop bottle rocket. The program culminates with an award ceremony where friends and family have an opportunity to see what the girls have accomplished over the weekend.

The cost of the camp is about $150 per girl, of which the girls pay $25. The rest of the funds have been raised from donations and grants. Some companies have donated materials, such as airplanes and instructors. Others have sponsored daughters of their employees. Funds were even received from individuals that felt this was a worthy cause. Many professional women from the community volunteered to help with the academy in order to provide the girls with positive female role models. They helped with the workshops and even slept in the dorms with the girls. In the future we expect to increase the grant money in order to accept more girls for the academy.

A survey was taken at the end of the academy to gauge the initial response to the program. The results of this initial survey will be discussed within the paper. Additionally, the paper will

“Proceedings of the 2005 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2005, American Society for Engineering Education”

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Bender, W., & Hoover, A., & Manweller, O. (2005, June), Young Women's Aviation, Construction And Engineering Academy Paper presented at 2005 Annual Conference, Portland, Oregon. 10.18260/1-2--15015