Latinas in STEM "STEM 101 Conference"

by Domeyko Sergio November 19, 2014

On Saturday, November 8th, Silicon Valley Latino had the great pleasure of covering Latinas in STEM's "STEM 101 Conference," hosted at Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School. SVL attended as a media sponsor — and as a parent, with both of my children participating in the event.

The morning began with registration at 8AM and a light breakfast, followed by a heartfelt welcome and an inspiring keynote delivered by Patricia Millan, Sr. Research Statistician at Nielsen. Patricia shared her real-life experience as a Latina high school student navigating familia expectations, college opportunities, and the journey from high school to higher education. Her honesty and warmth resonated deeply with an audience of 250 students, parents, STEM professionals, sponsors, and volunteers.

After the keynote, students chose between hands-on STEM learning workshops or career presentations, while parents attended a separate session on supporting their students through the college application process. The highlight of the day — students built and programmed Lego robots. Safe to say, my daughter is already looking forward to the next one.

SVL sat down with Diana Albarran Chicas, co-founder of Latinas in STEM and Near Field Range Test Section Manager at Space Systems Loral. "For us it's about impact," Diana said. "It's about connecting with these young girls and awakening the spark from within them." On making it all happen: "It truly takes a village — volunteers, sponsors like Google, Cisco, Symantec, IBM, Chevron, Nielsen, and NASA, and collaborators like LISTAS and Latinovating by Grace Tiscareno-Sato."

The conference closed with acknowledgements to sponsors, partners, and volunteers. Silicon Valley Latino was honored to serve as a media sponsor. Adelante Latinas in STEM.

For more information visit latinasinstem.com