For Immediate Release
New York City, April 24, 2018 — On Friday, April 20, 2018 the American Heart Association hosted the inaugural STEM Goes Red event in New York City. Almost 100 high school girls from across the five boroughs enjoyed a fun-filled and inspiring day at the New York Academy of Sciences, where they gained hands-on experience in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
STEM Goes Red is the newest initiative of the NYC Go Red For Women movement. Its aim is to inspire young women to pursue STEM careers by connecting them with inspiring leaders and mentors.
The goal of the day was to ensure that attendees walked away knowing they can make an impact through a promising career in an exciting field. Today, millions of STEM jobs are becoming available in the United States, but most U.S. students are unprepared to fill these careers. Moreover, only 3 out of 100 female bachelor students continue to work in STEM fields after graduating.
“It’s important we continue to create environments like the American Heart Association’s STEM Goes Red that showcase diverse women leaders who represent what is possible for girls,” said Leah McGowen-Hare, Senior Director, Trailblazer Storytelling and Developer Evangelism at Salesforce. “I hope that the young women will walk away knowing that they can have impactful, fulfilling careers in STEM and hold the door open for the next generation.”
Among the highlights of STEM Goes Red was a series of interactive breakout sessions designed to engage the young women in STEM. One of the activities, which was led by littleBits and sponsored by CVS Health, challenged the girls to build and race robots.
“My favorite part of the day was building the droid robots,” said a 10th grader from the Young Women’s Leadership School of Astoria. “I feel like hands-on learning is definitely my thing and other people would really enjoy it. I like robotics and think it’s interesting.”
Students were tasked with solving science and math clues to “break out of the box” in one activity sponsored by TATA Consulting Services, and the girls learned the chemical engineering process in the final breakout session of the day sponsored by Carnegie Melon College of Engineering.
“Throughout the breakout sessions we had today I was able to learn about STEM,” said an 11th grade student from Trevor Day School. “We talked about chemical engineering, which I am very interested in, and we also broke through four different locks using different science puzzles. This taught me that you need a collaborative mindset and to work with others to find the best possible solution.”
By encouraging young women to pursue careers in the STEM fields, the American Heart Association aims to help spur the next generation of scientists and researchers to save millions of women from heart disease and stroke. Roughly 35 women die each day from cardiovascular disease and stroke in the New York City area; approximately 80 percent of these deaths are preventable.
“You girls in this room are the future ambassadors for this movement,” said Kathy Kauffmann, Senior Vice President, American Heart Association, New York City.” You are our chance of discovering the next great medical breakthrough. You are our hope of finding a cure for women’s number one killer, which as it turns out is heart disease.”
Go Red For Women is nationally sponsored by CVS Health and Macy’s. New York City Goes Red sponsors are Northwell Health and the Elizabeth Elting Foundation. STEM Goes Red NYC is presented by Salesforce.
Catalyst Sponsors include Carnegie Mellon College of Engineering, Cisco, Deloitte, Dell Technologies, Infosys, McKinsey & Company, Oracle, Strongbow Consulting Group, and Tata Consultancy Services. Pioneer Sponsors include Accenture, Aetna, Arconic, AT&T, Genpact, Lenovo, New York Academy of Sciences, PhRMA, Publicis Health, Red Hat, Vodafone, Xerox, and Xsell Resources.
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About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is devoted to saving people from heart disease and stroke – the two leading causes of death in the world. We team with millions of volunteers to fund innovative research, fight for stronger public health policies and provide lifesaving tools and information to prevent and treat these diseases. The Dallas-based association is the nation’s oldest and largest voluntary organization dedicated to fighting heart disease and stroke. To learn more or to get involved, call 1-800-AHA-USA1, visit heart.org or call any of our offices around the country.