On Thursday, March 26, the Tioga FCCLA hosted its first-ever Women in STEM Career Day for Tioga students in grades 2-8.
The goal was to raise awareness about and spark interest in careers that involve Science, Technology, Engineering or Math (STEM).
Individuals from 11 different professions were on-hand to teach young Bulldogs about specific STEM-related careers.
Presenters included former Tioga Bulldog Danielle Lintner - Flight Instructor, Pilot; Amber Nowaski - Broadcast Meteorology, KTEN News; Amy Marcotte - Residential Architect, Harvest Home Designs; Monica Boren - Physicians Assistant, NICU Parkland Hospital; THS Class of 2017 Valedictorian, Leanna (Crowe) Mack - Medical Laboratory Scientist; Kauana Gomes - Senior Service Engineer, Peterbilt Motors; Shelia Donahue - Technical Writing and Training; Leigh Weaver - Texas New Mexico Power; and special engineer guest Keisha Stadler - U.S. Airforce Pilot and American Airlines Pilot.
The event was held at the Elementary School library during the school day from 8 a.m.-noon.
It was a culmination project to an ongoing STEM Career project that two senior FCCLA members, Emily Ballinger and Lacie Gray, have been working on since December.
The members have already competed and won the regional title and will compete again in April at the state competition.
Originally scheduled for late January, the Women in STEM Career Day was rescheduled to increase its overall impact by giving more students an opportunity to attend while at school.
Students thoroughly enjoyed visiting with the career professionals and learning about opportunities that exist in STEM-related fields.
The event was a great success.