FULLERTON : Workshops Planned for Young Women

Female junior and senior high school students have been invited to attend a conference today at Cal State Fullerton.

Participants will be given an opportunity to meet successful professional women working in fields that require scientific and mathematical training, according to Liz Hickman of the American Assn. of University Women, which is sponsoring the event.

Sixteen workshops will be offered in areas ranging from archeology to medicine.

“We try to get speakers who are familiar with where kids can go to get training and who can really relate well with junior and senior high girls,” Hickman said.

A keynote address will be given by chemistry professor Barbara Finlayson-Pitts of Cal State Fullerton. This will be the third year Finlayson-Pitts has acted in this capacity. A second keynote will be provided by Nancy Young Moore, of the RAND Corp.

“The big benefit is that the students see that there are a number of women out there who have professions and careers in scientific and biomedical areas,” Finlayson-Pitts said. “It’s an opportunity for them to see that there are a large number of women in these fields.”

The conference, which is in its sixth year, is sponsored by Fullerton, Placentia/Yorba Linda and Brea/La Habra chapters of the AAUW. Attendance has increased each year, and Hickman said that participation has been limited to 600 this year.

“We try to reach girls who might not get as much encouragement at home or at school to follow careers in math or science. We like to have this at CSUF because it gives the kids a chance to spend the morning on a college campus,” Hickman said.