Program Encourages Teens to Break Glass Ceiling

by Denise Jewell

Daily Free Press, Wednesday, April 15, 1998

BOSTON - A Boston University program designed to introduce female high-schoolers to successful women in science launched a two-day conference in the George Sherman Union Metcalf Hall yesterday.

Trying to inspire them to become engineers and scientists, Kalpana Chawla, a NASA astronaut who orbited the earth in 1997, spoke to the 600-plus 10th- and 11th-graders at the fifth annual Pathways program.

"The NASA presentation was the hook," said Evelyn Scott-Ludwig, a director at EMC Corporationa and presenter at the conference.

Showing slides of her mission, Chawla told the young women to have fun with science. She also encouraged them to "dream dreams."

While more than 600 students from area high schools attended the two programs, the conference has not always seen such success. When BU first hosted Pathways in 1994, only 75 students participated.

"The program has really grown in many ways, including the diversity of women who participate," said Cynthia Brossman, a grants administrator in the College of Arts and Sciences math department. "The benefits of the program can be seen just by the sheer number of women who come together."

Presenters try to convince the teenagers that dreaming alone isn't enough to break the glass ceiling. Earning a degree in math or science is the key, they said.

"We try to express to them that having a technical degree can lead them to all sorts of interesting careers," Scott-Ludwig said. "We make science and technology real."

After lunch, the scientists met with students in groups of 10 to discuss "hot topics," such as the best uses of nuclear energy, the effects of global warming, climate control and gasoline taxes. Students also toured BU laboratories.

"We hope that it will give them a perspective on the enormous range in the fields of science." said Elizabeth Simmons, a founder of the Pathways program and an assistant professor at BU.