January 26, 2012
St. Mary’s University will host 500 middle school girls from the local area on Saturday, Jan. 28, for Expanding Your Horizons, a one-day conference encouraging girls to pursue science, technology, engineering, and mathematics careers. The event will be from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Alumni Athletics & Convocation Center and other buildings throughout the St. Mary’s campus.
The conference will feature a variety of hands-on workshops led by local female professionals, allowing participants to experience the exciting career possibilities available in science and math. Workshops include such diverse topics as animal training (SeaWorld), how pills are made (UIW Feik School of Pharmacy), extracting DNA from peas (UTHSCSA), and exploring music copyright (St. Mary’s School of Law).
Faculty, staff, and student volunteers from St. Mary’s University, UTSA, Feik School of Pharmacy at the University of the Incarnate Word, and Our Lady of the Lake University have come together to make the 2012 Expanding Your Horizons event possible. In addition, HEB and the Southwest Research Institute have provided support so that the event is offered free of charge.
This local conference is part of a larger effort through the international nonprofit organization Expanding Your Horizons, comprised of volunteer educators, scientists, mathematicians, parents, community leaders, and government and corporate representatives.