Dozens of smiling students, from fifth graders through graduating seniors, eagerly showed off a variety of creative hands-on projects during DIY Girls’ first-ever STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Expo at San Fernando High School.
It was a celebration of DIY Girls’ core programs – including Creative Electronics, Tech and Arts, and Invent Girls – and a showcase of student projects from across 19 partner schools, said Amanda Rivera, director of operations for the organization.
“Over 95% of our students at the elementary level want to continue creating more STEM projects,” said Rivera, regarding the impact of DIY Girls. Among middle school students, who learn about soldering and circuitry, they have witnessed a 30% increase in STEM knowledge. And at the high school level, they see a continued growth in both confidence and persistence.
Andrea Alonso, a fifth-grader at Hillery T. Broadous Elementary School in Pacoima, created a stuffed animal-style keychain resembling a bat with LED lights and a battery; it lights up with a switch. She explained that she used electrical threads to connect the different components. She also made a solar-powered toy car with a small solar panel that draws energy from sunlight.
Andrea said she joined DIY Girls because she wanted to be part of a club where she could interact with other students and enjoy learning about new things.
“I really like this program because it showed me how to build things with batteries and how to work with other people you haven’t met before,” said the 11 year old. “I never really liked [learning about] science and engineering in school because it’s boring there, but in this club [they] make it fun.”
Middle schoolers Dasha Coary and Samantha Lansang each created their own unique painting adorned with strategically-placed small bulbs across the canvas that light up. They both said they wanted to join DIY Girls because of their mutual interest in science, specifically engineering.
“I was actually interested in the engineering field,” said Dasha. “I wanted to learn more about it.”
Samantha had attended a few DIY Girls events before joining and was intrigued, noting, “It was really fun, so I wanted to keep going.”
Founded in 2011 by current Congresswoman Luz Rivas, DIY (which stands for “do it yourself”) Girls is a nonprofit that serves the Northeast San Fernando Valley offering free programs for girls and gender-expansive youth in grades 5 through 12, that support STEM learning via hands-on projects, career exploration and mentorship.
“We are so fortunate to be surrounded by so much support in the community, not just from [our sponsors], but from all of you, the parents that encourage your students to come through our programs every day, and to continue with us year after year,” said Cristina Gutierrez Medina, executive director of DIY Girls, addressing the parents and guests in attendance. “Some students have been with us for multiple years – some of them for three years, some for [up to] seven years. … We are here because we want to make sure that we are inspiring the next generation of makers and, ultimately, letting them know that they can do anything that they set their mind to.”
Currently, 100% of graduating seniors in DIY Girls enroll in college, and 82% choose to pursue a STEM-related career. One of those students is Alexa Hernandez, a senior at San Fernando High, who will attend USC (University of Southern California), where she will major in computer science. She was inspired to join DIY Girls in part to follow in her sister’s footsteps.
“I had always been interested in science and I liked being hands-on and building things, and I liked puzzles, too,” she told the San Fernando Valley Sun/el Sol. “So after seeing my sister doing [different things] in the program, I just [thought], ‘I gotta do that, too.’ So when they opened up at my elementary school when I was in fifth grade, I started going after school every week.”
And Hernandez never stopped going, even attending DIY Girls summer camp, where she learned woodworking and made her own planter, which she cut, assembled, painted and got to take home. Over the years, she also learned about electronic circuits and a lot more, fostering her eventual interest in computer science.
When Hernandez’s mother, Maria, first heard about DIY Girls, “I really liked that they showed girls, like my daughters, a different world, because they were taught that it’s not true that this career is only for men or that career is only for women,” she recounted.
When Maria Hernandez was growing up in Mexico, things were very different, she said. When she expressed interest in mechanics and carpentry while in middle school, she was immediately dissuaded. “Those jobs are just for men,” she was told.
But her girls “have been exposed to so many different things and they’ve gotten involved in anything that caught their attention,” she continued.
“ I’m very proud of my daughters,” said Maria Hernandez. Her older daughter was studying civil engineering at California State University, Northridge. Although she has temporarily paused her studies, she plans to go back. And when she does, both sisters will be pursuing STEM careers.
“I’m very excited to see them learn something new every day,” she said, “and to see them succeed in whatever they do.”
DIY Girls offers free programs at participating elementary, middle and high schools. To learn more, go to: www.diygirls.org.
