Posted by Lauren Boldon on Posted on in women in the workplace

A message from the SCSW Co-Chairs, Lauren Boldon & Emily Zvolanek:

Science Careers in Search of Women (SCSW) was held virtually on Friday, April 29th for more than 110 high-school girls across the Chicagoland area. The goal of SCSW is to inspire young women to pursue careers in science, bringing them virtually to Argonne for a day of lectures, tours, career booth exhibits, and mentoring.

While the virtual atmosphere is different than in-person, the students remained engaged throughout the day and were excited to see the virtual tours and videos of the Materials Engineering Research Facility (MERF), Advanced Photon Source (APS), and EcoCar. Additionally, they were very interested in the experiences of the keynote speakers – Dr. Lori Ann Post, Director of the Institute for Public Health and Medicine at Northwestern University, and Michelle Larson, President and CEO of Adler Planetarium.

The students connected with Argonne scientists in fields of interest to them via the career panels and career booths, as well as in small group sessions with scientists. Meanwhile, teachers were provided an opportunity to listen to lectures from Argonne scientists, as well as network and engage with each other in a parallel teacher panel.

SCSW could not have happened without the support of the broader Laboratory community, but WIST would especially like to thank the Organizing Committee, Career Panel and Booth presenters and moderators, and the small group session volunteers.