Expanding Your Horizons is a national and international program that inspires middle-school girls to continue their interest in math, science, and technology. Since 1975, more than 625,000 girls have attended an Expanding Your Horizons conference.
For nearly 25 years, South Puget Sound Community College (SPSCC) has teamed up with the American Association of University Women to bring the event to Thurston County.
SPSCC hosts this year’s annual conference on Saturday, March 3rd from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
“My daughter went, and she’s 30 now,” says Nancy McKinney, Vice President for Administrative Services and Extended Learning at SPSCC and chair of the organizing committee for Expanding Your Horizons.
The workshops aims to show female students that careers in math, science, and technology are not only possible, but also something to strive for and realistically attain. The conference also brings girls together with women working in those fields, providing interaction with real-life role models.
The importance of a program like this is indisputable.
“The research showed that girls started dropping out of math and science in middle school,” says McKinney. “This program is really meant to inspire them so that as they enter high school they continue taking classes and being interested in going to college – and into math, science, and technology careers.”
The Thurston County Expanding Your Horizons conference offers 27 different workshops. Attendees sign up and let organizers know the three sessions they’re most interested in. “Then we try to match them up with their interests,” says McKinney.
This year’s sessions include workshops involving veterinary medicine, toxins in personal care products, carbon footprints, archaeology, fingerprinting, and much more. A complete list of class offerings can be found here.
The day includes two workshops for each attendee, a break with some food, a third workshop, and then a Main Stage Presentation. This year, a female glass artist from the Museum of Glass’s Mobile Hot Shop will demonstrate the science fundamentals and magic of glassblowing.
At just $12 per attendee for the conference and workshop, the event is incredibly affordable.
“The community makes that happen,” says McKinney. “We’ve had some very generous donors: Olympia Federal Savings has been a huge supporter, Soroptimist International of Olympia, and South Puget Sound Rotary Club.”
SPSCC receives donated items for the conference and workshops, and a myriad of volunteers to help run the event.
“All the mentors who conduct the classes with girls volunteer their time,” says McKinney. “It’s all done on a shoestring and really depends on volunteers and donations from the community.”
The event usually registers between 200 and 250 girls. “We have a middle school group that comes from Bremerton, a group coming over from Elma. We’re open to whoever wants to attend,” says McKinney.
This year’s conference also offers a concurrent parent workshop, where parents can attend sessions that teach them how to help their daughters navigate their financial futures, information about college preparation, Internet safety, and “Where Did My Daughter Go?” – a session with a mental health professional to help parents learn more about where the girls are at this stage of their life.
“We get about 50 parents for that,” says McKinney. “It’s been really popular.”
Parents not attending the concurrent workshops are free to drop their daughters off for the event. “We have plenty of volunteers that are keeping an eye on them and helping them get through the day,” says McKinney.
The event offers long-lasting – and often life-changing – inspiration to the girls who take part.
“I was going through the bank the other day, depositing a donation, and the woman waiting on me said, ‘I went to EYH! I still remember it. It was so awesome!’ McKinney says with a laugh. “I get feedback like that all the time.”
This year’s conference begins at 8:30 a.m. in the Student Union Building at SPSCC, and ends at 1:30 p.m.
Register now at the Thurston County Expanding Your Horizons website. The registration deadline is February 25, 2012. After that date, registrations will be accepted according to available space.
Students can also register via mail by sending a registration form and a check to Expanding Your Horizons, P.O. Box 4254, Tumwater, Wash., 98501.
The conference and workshops fill on a first-come, first-served basis. For additional information, contact Nancy McKinney at 360.597.5222.
For more information, visit the Thurston County Expanding Your Horizons website or the Thurston County Expanding Your Horizons Facebook page.
