Longtime
PWCS
partner
BAE
Systems
in
Manassas
is
ensuring
students
don't
miss
out
on
the
annual
Women
in
Technology
(WiT)
program
by
offering
it
virtually
for
2021.
This
year's
program
was
shortened
to
eight
weeks,
but
continued
to
provide
17
PWCS
high
school
female
students
a
hands-on
look
at
engineering
disciplines
like
mechanical,
electrical,
and
systems
engineering,
along
with
computer
programming
and
other
skills.
Students
from
surrounding
counties
and
private
schools
are
also
participating.
2021
PWCS
WiT
participants
include:
Lauren
Bailey
-
Patriot
High
School
Erin
Dougherty
-
Battlefield
High
School
Jennine
Faruque
-
Osbourn
Park
High
School
Maisha
Farzana
-
Osbourn
Park
High
School
Katherine
Fowler
-
Charles
J.
Colgan
Sr.
High
School
Vasundhara
Gatne
-
Osbourn
Park
High
School
Ming
Harrison
-
Osbourn
Park
High
School
Grace
Henderson
-
Battlefield
High
School
Alexandra
Huszcza
-
Charles
J.
Colgan
Sr.
High
School
Jasmine
Mendez
-
Charles
J.
Colgan
Sr.
High
School
Valery
Moreno
Mena
-
Unity
Reed
High
School
Aditi
Mukul
-
Battlefield
High
School
Anika
Mukul
-
Battlefield
High
School
Cynthia
Nguyen
-
Patriot
High
School
Akshita
Ramesh
-
Battlefield
High
School
Sejal
Sharma
-
Osbourn
Park
High
School
Melinda
Wong
-
Patriot
High
School
Jennifer Koehler, BAE Systems senior principle electrical engineer, coordinates and leads the WiT program. The students met virtually once a week , where sessions included everything from 3-D printing and building an electrical circuit, to creating a working POD for life on Mars.
Other rotations include resume-writing and building skills in communication and public speaking. Another primary goal of WiT is providing mentorship to female students in their pursuit of technical careers.
"I applied to the WIT program from BAE because it was an amazing opportunity to get experience with different aspects of the field of which I want to pursue," shared Ming Harrison, a senior at Osbourn Park High School. "It is also an opportunity to work with an amazing group of women in the area of which I would like to pursue."
Harrison has found this year's virtual WiT program to be engaging and educational. After one session, she created her own electrical circuit that plays music.
Watch
and
listen
to
Harrison's
circuit
board
play
a
song
Erin
Dougherty,
a
junior
at
Battlefield
High
School,
applied
to
BAE's
WiT
program
to
"open
her
eyes"
to
some
potential
STEM-related
career
opportunities.
"The
program
is
taking
place
virtually
this
year,
but
still
we've
been
able
to
do
these
things
from
home
and
work
on
interactive
projects
over
Zoom,
helping
us
strengthen
our
communication
skills
as
well,"
shared
Dougherty.
Allie
Huszcza,
a
senior
at
Colgan
High
School,
is
also
finding
her
participation
in
this
year's
virtual
WiT
program
to
be
fulfilling.
"I
have
met
other
girls
who
have
the
same
interest
of
engineering,"
commented
Huszcza.
"I
can
definitely
say
I
am
satisfied
so
far
and
thankful
to
be
part
of
the
WiT
program."