Throughout history, women have been behind some of the greatest scientific achievements that have shaped our future. And yet, there are still a remarkably small percentage of women in fields like mathematics, engineering and physics.
Fortunately, there has been a nationwide push for women to consider and enroll in these and other fields. One group leading this push is the Girl Scouts of America, which recently partnered with NIPSCO for "Introduce Your Girl to Engineering Day."
“We really promote women in engineering. Through the last 6 years, our DAWN program has focused on this day. This lets girls, girl scouts specifically, learn about opportunities in engineering. We’ve traditionally held this on Presidents Day,” stated Denise Conlon, Billing and Payment Manager for NIPSCO. “This gives them a day to experience a little bit of what goes on here at NIPSCO. Get them to do a project, create teamwork and have a fun day all together.”
The event started six years ago with only 50 girls in attendance, and today’s turnout saw 175 girls from the Girl Scouts join in on the fun. The girls were introduced to female engineers that work at NIPSCO, watched demonstrations for natural gas and electricity and even complete a project together.
“They do an engineer group project first,” said Denise Rodriguez, External Communications Specialist at NIPSCO. “After the group project, they break out into little groups, and they go to the natural gas safety, and the house actually explodes. Then there’s Buzz Ingram that teaches about electric safety, who has a model town and he goes over what to do and not do around electrical wires.”
The event was spearheaded by Violet Sistovaris, President and CEO of NIPSCO, who also sits on the board for the Girl Scouts, and was developed by NIPSCO employee resource group Developing and Advancing Women (DAWN) at NISource.
In addition to the two demonstrations, there were also a teamwork project that had three prizes for Best Teamwork, Best Design, and Most Creative.
“This year is an environmental focus,” said Dee Hoehler, Director of New Business Services. “The kids will be making a planter out of recycled parts. Afterwards they’ll rotate through the other events, and even go on tours, go upstairs to participate in an interactive demonstration with Indiana Dunes, and have a 'Q & A' with our female engineering panel.”
Lastly, there was a photo booth where the kids could dress up in silly outfits for, as well as a giant Candy Bar, which were two long tables laden with tons of candy for the girls to take home.
Companies like NIPSCO are at the forefront of building a better future by encouraging young women to enter into engineering and similar fields. We’re sure the girls can’t wait until next year!