Girls Inc. STEM graduates were blinded by science

LYNN – One by one Friday, graduates of the Girls Inc. Eureka STEM program spoke about the things they?d learned during the six-week session that ended with the ceremony at the organization?s High Street headquarters.They talked of field trips, sports, swimming and the camaraderie that comes with spending six intense weeks with each other. Every time one of them spoke, the cheers coming from the crowd were both loud and heartfelt.And, says Lena Crowley, who was the director of the program this summer at Girls Inc., they learned that science is cool.STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics, is a program designed to get children interested in scientific fields.?This is a chance to inspire them to think of different career options,” said Crowley of the Eureka program, which is geared toward middle-school students. “They get to do hands-on activities, go on field trips designed around science and learn that, as a field, science is a pretty cool thing.”For example, said Crowley, they heard a guest speaker from the Broad Institute – which is a collaborative between MIT and Harvard.?He talked about all the research that?s being done on various diseases, such as diabetes,” she said, “and the different drugs and treatments that might be used to combat them.”Crowley said that many girls don?t see science and technology as particularly helpful, and Eureka?s aim is to get them to think differently.?I think they see the person who sits behind a computer all day and is isolated,” she said. “Here, they learn that there?s a lot of teamwork, and a lot of traveling, and that you can do some really neat things.”The typical Eureka day was split in two. In the mornings it was STEM work and STEM projects. In the afternoon, it was sports and swimming (which, this year, was done at the Boys and Girls Club of Lynn).?We want the girls to see the benefits of sports,” said Crowley, “and we want them to feel comfortable playing sports. A lot of times, if children aren?t playing sports by the time they?re in middle school, they probably won?t in high school. This is a way to get them to consider it.”The Eureka program was split into three groups: Alpha (those going into the seventh grade), Beta (eighth grade) and Bridges (ninth).?We want them to be strong, smart and bold,” said Crowley. “And you could see that today. The seventh-graders were a little timid, whereas by the time they?re going into the ninth, they have a lot more confidence.”Also recognized Friday were the soon-to-be sophomores who survived the three years of Eureka and earned internships at various Lynn businesses, including the YMCA, My Brother?s table and The Item.?We call it the Capstone Experience,” said Meaghan Culkeen, who directed the program. “There are requirements. You have to have had 80 percent participation over the three years of the (Eureka) program, you have to have joined the internship program, gone through training on professionalism and how to be an advocate for yourself.”By the time the candidates were done with that, Culkeen said, “we knew how to match them to jobs they might like to do.”That program also lasted six weeks and ended Friday as well.