VAN NUYS : Gayle Wilson Urges Girls to Study Science

Thirty years ago, Gayle Wilson was a trailblazer, majoring in biology at Stanford University at a time when women were not encouraged to study science.

And Thursday, dismayed by recent studies that contend women are more likely to drop out of science and medicine programs than men, Wilson, who is married to Gov. Pete Wilson, visited the the Van Nuys High School Medical Magnet to give a pep talk to female students.

“I’m here to encourage you,” Wilson told about a dozen girls seated around a table at the school. “You’re just as good as the guys.”

A board member of the national Center for Excellence in Education, Wilson graduated Phi Betta Kappa from Stanford. She married her first husband while still in college, however, and did not pursue a career in science.

Wilson said an emphasis on science and math education as early as the third grade is the key to increasing the number of women entering the medical profession.

Wilson visited the medical magnet, now in its second year, to show support for the program and to learn about different methods schools across the state are using to educate students in science and math.

In addition to a medically oriented regular curriculum, students in the program spend 10-week rotations at various Valley Presbyterian Hospital departments, such as the laboratory, pediatrics and surgery. Once a week for two hours, they work with doctors, nurses, medical technicians and administrators to learn firsthand what such jobs entail.