Thanks to the generous scholarships provided by Hoya Construction and the sponsorship from GEMS (Girls in Engineering, Math, and Science), PSD students, including some enrolled in the School to Work Alliance Program (SWAP), were able to participate in the Transportation and Construction Girl Event held in Denver on September 23, 2019. Rocky Mountain High School Integrated Services Teacher, Tara Gross and SWAP Specialist, Michelle Wright, accompanied Chelsie, Anika, Taijah and Megan to the Event. Poudre High School Counselor, Matt Miltenberg attended with students Justine, Tessa and Jessie.
Participants received information on the different employment opportunities in the areas of: welding, drone flying, engineering, architecture design, road construction, train operations, large vehicle driving, and many more as well as information on how to gain the skills needed to be ready to be employable with these occupations.
Students were also able to try several hands-on activities including: welding a pipe, flying a drone on VR, driving a heavy piece of equipment on a simulator, and “walking” on railroad tracks.
At the “formal” lunch banquet, participants listened to several speakers talk about their journey into the career fields of construction and transportation. Some speakers were current high school students who discussed which career paths they are considering, scholarships they’ve already earned, and what the advantages are of being a girl/woman working in the various construction and transportation fields.
At the end of the day, when prompted, one of the young women from PSD said that her favorite part of the day was, “When I got to weld. It was a lot like art work but with metal. I think I could do that.”
Integrated Services Poudre School District 