Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) provides an opportunity for 6th through 12th grade young women and interested adults to learn about career opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM). The 37th EYH was held on Saturday, March 18 and was enjoyed by over 1,200 girls. The day was filled with fun, hands on activities from a wide array of disciplines, presented by experts who volunteer their time. The keynote speaker was May Noguchi, a Southwest Airline pilot. Teams of Skyline College students representing Phi Theta Kappa, Biology, Biotechnology, and Respiratory Therapy led several workshops. These students developed their hands-on labs with Chris Case, Nick Kapp, Nancy Ruis, Safiyyah Forbes, Ijaz Ahmed, and Elsa Jimenez-Samayoa. Skyline College faculty who led workshops included Jing Folsom, Nada Nekrep, Janelle Barbier, Alice Erskine, lkka Koskelo, Bruce Greenstein, Carla Grandy, Janice Mcomber, and Carina Anttila-Suarez.
A 6th grader wrote “It was an amazing experience. I look forward to coming back next year.” And a 9th grader asked us to “Please have more than one EYH each year at Skyline!”
One parent emailed “Thank you so much for hosting such an amazing conference yesterday. My daughter had a great time and had so much to share about her workshops. Her only regret was that she couldn’t do more! I‘m so grateful that she had such an amazing opportunity to participate in and appreciate all your effort put into organizing this event.”
The President’s Innovation Fund funded the conference. Soroptimists of North San Mateo County provided school buses and scholarships for north county girls. Volunteer planning committee members are AJ Bates, Shari Bookstaff, Christine Case, Stephen Fredricks. Jon Freedman, Ray Hernandez, Kylin Johnson, Nadia Tariq, and Alana Utsumi. Community members on the planning committee are Arlene Chang, Judy Lewis, and Barbara Irli
Article by Dr. Christine Case | Photos by Dr. Christine Case and Andrea Caesar.