About 100 Eugene girls got a different sort of education as they left their regular middle school classes Thursday and took part in the University’s “Take Our Daughters To Work Day.”
Participating in diverse workshops, such as genetics, communications, neuroscience and clay art, the girls got a chance to talk with professors and instructors, listen to a lecture given by female members of The Register-Guard’s high school news team, “20 Below,”
and have lunch with women professionals.
The first Take Our Daughters To Work Day was organized eight years ago by the Ms. Foundation, an affiliate of Ms. Magazine. According to the foundation’s Web site, the day was created to help girls aged nine to 15 years-old transition into adolescence and make them aware of different career opportunities.
“These ages are a crucial time for girls,” said Karen Logvin, organizer of the University event. “They can suffer from self-esteem or depression problems, and their grades dip down.”
Logvin, a University child and family services administrator, said boys can also suffer these problems, but girls don’t bounce back as quickly.
“Take Our Daughters To Work Day is seen as an intervention to address these issues and to help these girls become aware of the options available to them,” she said.
Janis Weeks, a professor and head of the University biology department, said when she was in school, “women didn’t receive a lot of encouragement.”
“Luckily, I had a few teachers who really encouraged my interest in science,” she said, “and I eventually went on to do my undergraduate work at [Massachusetts Institute of Technology].”
“This is a really important time for [these girls], so I enjoy doing this to help them,” Weeks said. “It’s so much better now with mentorship programs and things like this.”
The girls spent about an hour with Weeks looking at the different types of test animals and learning about insect metamorphosis.
Fine arts professor George Kokis hosted 10 girls in a workshop instructing them on playing with clay.
“This is a hands-on experience with clay as a medium to give form to ideas,” he said.
Kokis taught the girls about working with clay, but the experience was more than getting dirty hands.
“So much at the UO is head work,” he said. “Here’s a chance for young women to use hands and body. Mainly, I want to give an idea about the importance of work and how art is valued at the University.”
Girls and their parents expressed excitement about the opportunity to explore a range of different career fields.
Mike McHorse said his young daughter already wants to be a civil engineer, “but I wanted to expose her to other things that she might find interesting. I think this is great.”
Janna Alley, an architect in the University facilities department and mentor to 14-year-old Sara Luker, said she brought Luker to familiarize her with the campus and to “show her other things that are available out there for women.”
“It’s fun for me to learn about this kind of stuff,” Luker said.