EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, California -- STARBASE Edwards is proud to present a new after school STEM program directed to girls from Kern County funded by The Women’s and Girls Fund and supported by Kern Community Foundation. The aim of the STARBASE 2.0 MiSS program is to provide girls with leadership initiatives, foster positive social change, and create STEM awareness and opportunities unmet by current strategies.
The program will operate under DoD STARBASE Edwards as an extension to serve the needs of the community, propel self-sufficiency, and produce future leaders from the constituency.
DoD STARBASE Edwards Director Amira Flores explains “MiSS will empower, engage, and achieve equality for girls in the STEM field, we are grateful to The Women’s and Girls’ Fund for their generosity and belief in the program.”
Girls will be immersed into a variety of STEM initiatives and core areas such as VR Technologies, Arduino open-source electronics, 3D CAD (Onshape), Robotics, Physics, and participate in The American Rocketry Challenge (TARC).
Girls were selected from Mojave Unified School District (MUSD) and Southern Kern Unified School District (SKUSD) located outside of Edwards Air Force Base that met the eligibility and align with the Kern County Foundation Report statistics. SKUSD Superintendent Barbara Gaines is elated at the opportunity to participate in the (MiSS) Program.
“This phenomenal program provided at Edwards Air Force Base will allow us to empower 12 young freshmen women to pursue careers in engineering and other STEM related occupations,” Gaines said. “The percent of young women enrolling in engineering programs is quite low. Anything we can do in collaboration with other districts and Edwards to build capacity and encourage STEM education in our female students we want to be a part of. Thank you to the DoD STARBASE Program for including SKUSD students!”
The STARBASE 2.0 MiSS program will have a long-term effect on the girls that participate by collaborating and networking with female mentors from NASA, Edwards AFB female STEM civilians, and, AFRL, and STARBASE instructors. They will have first-hand experience in STEM careers, STEM knowledge, and focus on real-world problems that will lead to an increased STEM interest.
“We are very excited to partner with the MiSS program. It is a wonderful opportunity for our students to explore some of the possibilities the universe has to offer” said MUSD Superintendent Katherine Aguirre. “We can hardly wait to see the students in action and for all of the opportunities yet to come from this partnership!”
At STARBASE 2.0 MiSS, girls will bring forth intellectual benefits that is necessary to boost the economy and provide a diverse environment to meet the demands for innovation and productivity.
“This program will give our students the exposure to many facets of STEM and positive female role models,” added Rosamond High Early College Principal Lisa Aqenenni. “The opportunities for both academic and personal growth is exciting for the young women of our community. This opportunity hopefully will spark the quest of knowledge in STEM and STEM related fields of employment.”
For more information about the MiSS program, or any other STARBASE Edwards news, please visit their Facebook @Starbase Edwards and Instagram at starbase.edwards