Exposure to Engineering

In 2008, Penn GEMS held its inaugural camp, which was the brainchild of Penn Engineering’s Advancing Women in Engineering (AWE) group. The camp was originally intended to inspire participation in the sciences for middle school girls. Though the target audience has been expanded, GEMS’ mission has remained steadfast: to provide hands-on experience to middle school students who are interested in many engineering disciplines including bioengineering, nanotechnology, computer science, and materials science. The program is overseen by Penn Engineering’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, which prioritizes outreach efforts at the School and K-12 level to expand the pipeline of future engineers who reflect the diversity of the U.S. and the global community.

“We make exploring science fun,” says Emily Delany, GEMS Director. “For many of these students, it’s the first time they’re interacting with engineering. They get excited about learning a new discipline and trying it in practice.”

“Aha!” moments were plentiful throughout the week, as students participated in sessions that enabled them to build and launch their own catapults, use engineering concepts to create balsa wood bridges, program robots to draw pictures, and more.

At GEMS, students were divided into cohorts and taught by current Penn doctoral and master’s students. Penn Engineering undergraduate students served as counselors for the week, providing mentorship and guiding campers between sessions.

One of those counselors was Laila Barakat Norford, ENG’23, who also attended GEMS in middle school. “When I was a camper here, most of the counselors were female,” she says. “It was almost a given that engineering was a discipline that would welcome me when I got to college. As I became surrounded by more and more male students in my advanced science and math classes, it was a lifeline to remember my supportive GEMS counselors. I wasn’t wrong—the women engineering community, especially AWE, was there for me even before my first day at Penn. It was so meaningful to mentor my own cohort of campers this year.” This fall, Laila will begin a PhD in bioinformatics and integrative genomics at Harvard. She hopes to become a college professor and lead a research team.

For six Philadelphia middle school students, the cost to attend GEMS is free due to ongoing support from Mark Fife, W’78, PAR’09, and Lori Rutman Fife, C’80, PAR’09. “Everyone deserves the opportunity to succeed,” says Mark Fife. “Lori and I don’t have a specialty in engineering, and we don’t code. But coding is the language of the 21st century, and these opportunities allow children to develop STEM skills at an early age.”

The Fifes’ generosity extends beyond GEMS. They also started the Fife-Penn STEM & Computer Science Academy—free after-school coding clubs for K-8 students led by Penn Engineering students. Coding, mentoring, and collaboration are just a few of the benefits. “We are creating opportunities for students in Philadelphia and giving them access to an engaging STEM curriculum,” says Chanda Jefferson, Director of Community Engagement and Outreach in Penn Engineering’s Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. “This included over 400 elementary and middle school students from 33 schools during the 2022-23 school year, and we’re always looking for more partners and support.”

As the saying goes, “you have to see it to be it.” Programming like GEMS and the Fife-Penn STEM & Computer Science Academy shows students that people who look like or identify as they do can choose a career in STEM. “We often hear students say, ‘Wow, I met a real-life engineer this week,’” says Delany. “There’s something magical about that, because they’re envisioning—maybe for the first time—what they could be.”

To discuss community partnership opportunities, contact Chanda Jefferson.

Learn more about supporting GEMS