Brooklyn Tech Launches New Program to Inspire Female Engineers (5/31/05)

ASME has teamed up with "Class is In" and New York's Con Edison to pilot a new program, "Bringing Girls into Engineering," aimed at encouraging teen-aged girls in New York to consider their options for careers in engineering.

The pilot program has particular relevance due to the current public perception that girls face unique challenges in the fields of engineering and science. The kick-off event was held last Thursday at Brooklyn Technical High School in New York.

"Bringing Girls into Engineering" is a grassroots initiative designed by "Class is In" and implemented through a strategic partnership with ASME. The pilot program at Brooklyn Tech is co-sponsored by Con Edison, the Brooklyn Tech Alumni Association and ASME.

The "Class is In — Bringing Girls into Engineering" initiative aims to increase awareness of the opportunities for girls in engineering through an interactive assembly of professional women engineers and young high school girls. The program provides a support network for female high school students interested in engineering, as well as inspiring young girls who may be unaware of the opportunities that exist in engineering.

At the Brooklyn Tech event on May 26, approximately 150 female students learned about the many technical career opportunities available to them in a profession stereotypically viewed as the province of men.

Brooklyn Technical High School is the nation's largest specialized high school for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, with 98 percent of its graduates attending 4-year colleges. Students from all five boroughs of New York City are admitted after having passed a competitive entrance examination. The Brooklyn Tech Alumni Association, founded twenty years ago, provides resources to ensure Brooklyn Tech's position as a premier school for mathematics, science and technology.

Con Edison is a subsidiary of Consolidated Edison Inc., one of the nation's largest investor-owned energy companies with $10 billion in annual revenues and approximately $23 billion in assets. The utility provides electric, gas, and steam service to more than 3 million customers in New York City and Westchester County, New York.




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