October 2018
October MWM NEWSLETTER

Please check out below for what's going on in MWM! 
MENTORING NEWS
Honorary MWM National Chair Governor Kim Reynolds presents Give Back Iowa Awards

Gov. Kim Reynolds made an appearance Tuesday in Waterloo to present the Give Back Iowa award to Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa. The award goes the organization for the 280 volunteer hours the staff of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa put in throughout the Black Hawk County area.
This is the second time the organization has received a Give Back Iowa award. “We depend on volunteers,” said Jody Hartz, interim CEO of Big Brothers Big Sisters, prior to introducing Reynolds. Reynolds said the she was excited about STEM programs offered by Big Brothers Big Sisters of Northeast Iowa and its Women in STEM initiative. “I am such a big proponent of STEM, science, technology, engineering and math,” Reynolds said. “It’s really brought business and industry educators together.” STEM is really important for young people in the state of Iowa to prepare them for those careers, Reynolds said. “Every day I’m inspired by Iowans like you who are making a difference in so many ways,” Reynolds said. “You’re making a difference one minute, one hour, one day, one month and one year at a time.”

To read the rest of the article please click here.
CORPORATE PARTNERS
Unleash Your Citizen Scientist Virtual Field Trip

Girls Get STEM: Unleash Your Inner Scientist  is a NEW partnership between Girl Scouts of the USA and Discovery Education designed to sparks girls’ interest in STEM! Join us on October 18th as we kick off the new program with a Virtual Field Trip accompanied by standards-aligned curriculum that aims to address gender equity in STEM education across the country through girl-led, girl-tested, and girl-approved resources for any student in grades 2-5.

Virtual Field Trip: Experience a brand-new kind of camp – it’s not just swimming, sun, and s’mores – but STEM! This first-ever girl-led virtual field trip will transport students on an adventure to the STEM Center of Excellence at Camp Whispering Cedars, where STEM will come to life in new and exciting ways.

Together, we will explore the topic of citizen science and learn how: 

  • Students can use the scientific method to help build a better world
  • STEM can inspire students to take positive action in their classrooms and communities 
  • Kids can help collect and analyze data for real-world scientists to use to create big solutions
Register today to unleash students’ inner citizen scientist!

Submit Your Campfire Questions! Join @DiscoveryEd, @GirlScouts, and other experts LIVE during the premiere by submitting questions and sending pictures during our Twitter chat! #CitizenScientistVFT. For more information please click here.
Girl Powered Announces Workshops During the Month of October

Girl Powered is a joint initiative created by the Robotics Education and Competition (REC) Foundation and VEX Robotics to make robotics reflective of the diverse world we live, and the one we want to leave behind. We are committed to showing how exciting it can be to get involved with STEM, showcasing examples of how successful women are changing the world, providing tools which will enable girls to succeed, and enabling a comfortable environment where all students confidence and abilities can flourish.

Girl Powered workshops are meant to engage and inform young women about STEM and robotics. Workshops include hands-on activities, robotics demonstrations, dynamic STEM speakers, and much more. There will be well over 100 Girl Powered workshops across the U.S. and around the world. Learn more about this initiative by clicking here.
STATES' INITIATIVES
Torchbearer Award Given from the Indiana Commission for Women

On Sept. 26, Donna Zimmerman Ivy Tech faculty in Evansville, received a Torchbearer Award from the Indiana Commission for Women for her work as Asst. Professor/Program Chair Advanced Automation and Robotics. As an Engineer herself, Donna is a visible example of what these girls might become. She spends every day in her lab and/or within the community teaching women of all ages the skills needed to successfully compete within this sector. One of her student projects was designing and building a standing wheelchair for one of their automotive students. She does outstanding work with and for our students! To watch a video of the event please click here.
Girls Engineer it Day
 
Society of Women Engineers would like to invite students, and friends to attend the 7th annual Girls Engineer It Day ! For more information please click here or the image .
i2 Learning STEM Week

i2 STEM Week in Massachusetts will kick off the first ever statewide STEM Week, October 22-26, 2018. Hundreds of STEM related events will be held across the Commonwealth. i2 STEM Week is an immersive program that transforms middle schools into STEM learning labs. During STEM Week, regularly scheduled course periods are replaced by hands-on curriculum developed by MIT and a number of other leading STEM organizations. Over the five days, teachers and students work in teams to solve real-world problems in a classroom where hands-on experimentation, critical thinking, and collaboration are encouraged and used as teaching techniques to engage and inspire students. For more information please click here.
WHAT'S GOING ON WITH MWM?
2018 Annual MWM Gala & Summit

The Annual MWM Awards Gala will take place October 25 in Washington DC preceding a Summit that will occur the following day, October 26 , also in Washington DC. If you are interested in learning more about these events, please reach out to your state leader , who can be found on our MWM website here , or alexa.gitler@stemconnector.com.
It is Time to ‘Be Counted!’
 
We are in the process of the  2018 Million Women Mentors ‘Be Counted!’ Campaign , in an effort to record all of the mentoring of girls and women in STEM that is happening already for 2018. We know companies, organizations, and individuals are working to move the needle for girls in STEM currently, and now we just need to count it!
 
Now you can easily record the mentoring you are doing just by clicking on the Be Counted! link from the  homepage . From there you can sign in or sign up and create your account. Finally, just fill out the information about the mentoring you have done, and voila! You will be counted!
 
Please help spread the word about this campaign and get all of the mentoring counted!  If you would like the Be Counted! Campaign Cheat Sheet click here . As well, the link to share out for our google form can be accessed by   clicking here.
 
If you have any questions or comments, please contact  Alexa.Gitler@stemconnector.com .
FEATURED RESOURCES
Released on June 26th at the Women in Insurance's event in New York, the paper provides an overview of existing trends in the industry while highlighting innovative approaches currently underway at a number of leading insurance organizations and sharing critical opportunities for recruiting and nurturing top female talent. If you are interested in reading the report please click here.