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HOUGHTON -- The United States Department of Labor found that only one out of 10 employed engineers are women.

Two hundred seventh and eighth grade female students attended Michigan Tech’s Pre-College Outreach event called Get WISE or Get Women In Science and Engineering.

“Today is about breaking down any barriers that they might have in their own mind to let them know that they can do this. Just because you’re a girl doesn’t mean you can’t get your hands dirty and work in these fields that require some hard-skilled thinking,” said Assistant Director for the Center for Pre-College Outreach, Cody Kangas.

Students got a chance to learn about different scientific concepts like the center of mass and how balance is distributed using certain objects.   

One of the ways the event inspired young women was by offering them different engineering activities. Students had to use newspaper and tape to construct a table that could withstand the weight of a textbook.

With a starting salary of $54,000, according to the Society of Women Engineers, only 20 percent of women are represented in engineering undergraduate degrees.

Kimberly D’Augustino is a biomedical engineering major, and she is one of seven undergraduate students who spoke at the event.

“I think that they all need to know how important their education is. I’m extremely passionate and think that people should take advantage of every opportunity that they have, and science and technology aren’t going anywhere, they’re just advancing,” said D’Augustino.  

Michigan Tech hopes that events like these can help change the students’ perspectives about science and open their minds to a possible future in engineering.