From the Women In Defense (WID) Mid-Atlantic Chapter:
The Women In Defense (WID) Mid-Atlantic Chapter completed its $25,000 endowment to Harford Community College’s (HCC) Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Department. This endowment was a $5,000 per year commitment by the Chapter to support STEM education including scholarships at Harford Community College.
The endowment furnished the STEM Department with several pieces of high tech chemistry laboratory equipment that are accessible to high school students, teachers, and college students alike. This allowed them to get new lab materials along with money for a centrifuge repair and other essential instruments. As part of the endowment, each year for the past five years an HCC STEM student was selected to receive a $2,500 scholarship, which helped them in pursuit of various STEM-related degrees. Scholarship recipients included: Cassandra Pellegrini; Diane St. Amant; Kimberly Branch; Mireille Nkamsi; and Marcia Rose Brocato.
Expressing gratitude to the WID Mid-Atlantic Chapter Dean Deborah Wrobel remarked, “Harford Community College and the STEM Division are very appreciative of the support provided to the Division by the Women in Defense. Their generous donation of $25,000 has provided analytical chemistry equipment and scholarships to STEM students. This support reaches deep into the community. Harford Community College’s partnership with Harford County Public Schools brings many teachers and students to our campus to use our laboratory facilities, and especially to use the analytical chemistry lab that is supported by the Women in Defense. We offer our thanks to the Women in Defense for helping to strengthen the STEM pipeline in Harford County.”
WID seeks to cultivate and support the advancement and recognition of women in all aspects of national security. WID was established to provide women a formal environment for professional growth through networking, education, and career development. WID is an affiliate of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), which represents all facets of the defense and technology industrial base and serves all military services. This affiliation gives WID members a source for defense industry information, increased networking opportunities and professional contacts, and an expanded scope of informative programs. You may contact the Chapter at rsvpwid@gmail.com for more information.
Women In Defense, A National Security Organization, promotes networking and professional development for women working in the national security sector. The Mid-Atlantic Chapter membership is open to military personnel, civilian employees, and contractors who support national security.
Are these scholarships for women only? Let’s face facts that women account for greater than 60% of community college enrollment in Maryland. When the situation was reversed it made sense to have programs that brought gender equity to higher education, but when does it stop with making college more female dominated? When men are 25% of the attendees will there be program to support young men in science fields. Doubtful. Great job by the Women in Defense but let’s not forget the collapse in male attendance is becoming a social problem as well, unless you want the next generation of “Prince Charmings” to be uneducated, disconnected, and unemployable.
You conveniently left out the part about how even in 2015 women are underrepresented in STEM majors. I’m for any program that encourages women to consider and enroll in college programs in those majors.