Eighth-grade girls in Yuba and Sutter counties eagerly listen to Ashley Spicer during her wildlife specialist presentation. 

MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) – The American Association of University Women (AAUW)’s annual Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Conference attracted almost 800 eighth-grade girls in Yuba and Sutter counties March 31 at the Yuba College Marysville campus. 

The annual conference has been held for about 30 years, according to Martha Bunce, the Executive Council leader for Marysville/Yuba City American Association of University Women.

The conference, first held in a Marysville church, was moved to the Yuba College campus because attendance grew over the years.

The conference’s mission is three-fold: to provide role models, open careers in the STEM fields predominantly occupied by males to the eighth-grade girls and to make STEM classes interesting, exciting and dynamic. This in turn will help the girls in their class choices when they enroll in high school.  

Criminalist Anna Brewer enthusiastically discusses criminal evidence and technology used in solving crimes.

Twenty-four professional women were invited to lead classes about their jobs and how STEM skills are used. A wide variety of careers were represented, including auto repair; marine biology; criminalistics; medical professions such as optometry, chiropractic and veterinary medicine; accounting and aviation. 

“My job is to find presenters,” said Bunce. “We have people who come back year after year. We try to have new people every year. I’m looking for those enthusiastic, dynamic women to be up there in front of the girls, saying, ‘This is really a great field. Wait ‘til you find out about it.’”

Students watched with rapt attention as criminalist Anna Brewer described evidence and advanced technology to solve crimes and wildlife scientists Ashley Spicer and Nicole McLoughlin discussed methods of identifying different species of wildlife. 

After the classes concluded, students received a sack lunch and a Yuba College campus tour. 

Bunce, a retired educator, emphasized that what is presented at the conference “is just the tip of the iceberg, compared to what’s available.” She also described her own math learning challenge, dyscalculia (number reversal). Bunce encourages students struggling with learning challenges to ask for help so that the STEM subjects make sense to them.