Author: Colleen Hecker
Date: July 15, 2024
This summer, FAU Marine Lab once again partnered with the American Association of University Women (AAUW) to help host Tech Trek, a science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) summer camp for middle school girls. Through participation in Tech Trek, girls are empowered with a STEM curriculum and by female mentors in STEM careers, equipping them with tools for their prospective paths to science-oriented careers. From master’s students to postdoctoral researchers, the women of the FAU Marine Lab showed up for Tech Trek to deliver engaging curricula and advice for campers interested in careers in marine biology.
For the second year, FAU Marine Lab postdoctoral researcher, Dr. Chelsea Bennice, and Ph.D. candidate, Ivana Serra, led the Tech Trek marine biology core course. Chelsea and Ivana once again provided a hands-on marine biology program, integrating new activities into the curriculum. Campers participated in a new activity, the art of fish printing. Fish printing, or Gyotaku, is a form of traditional Japanese art, wherein a newly caught fish is dipped in ink and used as a printing plate or stamp. This practice allows anglers to record their catches. After learning about the form and function of marine fish, the girls fish printed their own T-shirts. This experience was a great example of how art and science intersect, and the girls each got to leave camp with their own educational souvenir.
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Additionally, our virtual resources proved to be a fun hit with the campers, too. As part of a workshop on sea turtle conservation, Chelsea and Ivana led the campers through an interactive lesson crafted by our Glenn W. & Cornelia T. Bailey Marine SEA Scholars, called “Sea Turtles, From Nest to Sea.” The campers learned about southeast Florida’s loggerhead, leatherback, and green sea turtles, and concluded the lesson with a trivia competition. The curriculum demonstrated that marine biology can be an enjoyable, rewarding, and accessible field to girls and women.
Of course, a fun-filled STEM curriculum is only half of the equation designed to empower girls in STEM. Another part of Tech Trek’s objective is to introduce the campers to female scientists as role models. Various women from FAU at different career stages delivered presentations on their career paths, life experiences and scientific research, and in addition offered their advice to the campers.
FAU Marine Lab master’s student Colleen Hecker and postdoctoral researcher and veterinarian Dr. Samantha Kuschke described their career paths and the steps they took to reach their current positions. Colleen and Samantha also described their research studies on octopus species identification and the microbes associated with sea turtles, respectively. As part of Colleen’s presentation, the campers passed around a 3-D printed squid beak made at the FAU High School Owls Imaging Lab from computed axial tomography (CAT) scans made by Jamie Knaub, herself a FAU Ph.D. candidate. Colleen and Samantha both encouraged the girls to seek out extracurricular activities and to continue on a higher education career path.
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Additionally, two FAU alumnae, Rachel Shanker (M.Sci.) and Rebecca Dougherty (M.Sci.), shared their career paths, offering their perspectives as women in STEM fields outside of academic settings. Rachel currently serves as the conservation and education manager for Manatee Lagoon, an FPL Eco-discovery center focused on educating the public about manatee conservation. Sharing her passion for public outreach, Rachel encouraged the girls to consider STEM education for their future careers. She also provided an in-depth lesson on manatee biology, conservation, and anatomy. (Campers were able to observe real manatee bones!) Rebecca, a senior project manager for the South Florida Water Management District, described the research endeavors that allowed her to flourish in her current role. She emphasized the importance of a diversity of experiences to her professional growth. Those included studies on seagrass restoration, coral relocation, and proposal writing to fund homeless resource centers. She encouraged the campers to pursue varied volunteer and academic opportunities to broaden their experience and career path qualifications.
Our lab is proud to continue collaborating with AAUW, delivering a fun, educational, and inspiring curriculum to this year’s Tech Trek cohort. We strive to make science accessible for everyone. Collaborations like these allow us to extend our reach beyond the walls of the FAU Marine Lab. We look forward to future engagements with AAUW’s Tech Trek, and to continuing to engage young girls in STEM as part of our public education mission.
