NW Valley Times

Members of Grand Canyon University's Society of Women Engineers recently gathered in the university's Engineering Building to work on a unique project: welding a cactus made from nuts and washers. This activity was part of an effort to encourage women to pursue careers in engineering and technology, fields traditionally dominated by men.

Raegan Crumbly, co-project engineer for the chapter, explained the initiative's goals: “We try and do it in a way that’s going to be inviting for the girls that haven’t been in the shops before while also being a challenge, so when they’re done with a project, they feel accomplished for doing something they didn’t think they could do.”

The College of Engineering and Technology at GCU is focused on increasing female participation in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers. According to the National Girls Collaborative Project, women earn only 24% of bachelor’s degrees in engineering and 21% in computer science. Dr. Pam Rowland, associate dean of the college, highlighted this issue: “Engineering and technology have traditionally been male-dominated... But we’re working on helping young women understand that they could be in these professions.”

Dr. Cori Araza has been instrumental in connecting Society of Women Engineers (SWE) members with K-12 schools through events like "Coding with My Girls." At one such event this fall, high school students engaged in activities such as programming lights using Arduinos and building recipe pages with Replit.

Savannah Krey, a senior software development major and leader within Women in Tech at GCU, expressed her enthusiasm for these initiatives: “I’m trying to get people excited about STEM. I want other girls to be too because I think it’s so cool.” She noted her own experience as one of few females in her classes as motivation for encouraging younger girls.

Lilian Bauer, president of GCU’s Women in Tech club and a cybersecurity sophomore, emphasized the importance of community-building through these events. She shared how mentors helped guide her path: “They showed me I didn’t have to suppress myself to fit into the box that’s given to women in this type of field.”

At another recent event attended by Nazia Taylor from Honeywell Aerospace Technologies, she observed: “When you let girls just be together... They’re literally working on a project together.” Taylor spoke about Honeywell's internship program aimed at fostering interest among young people towards STEM fields.

Dr. Rowland also recounted her journey into information systems after staying home with her children. Inspired by low female graduation rates at Dakota State University where she previously taught, she co-founded CybHER to introduce K-12 girls to cybersecurity—a program she now promotes at GCU.

“We’re just starting the momentum around CybHER at GCU,” said Rowland about upcoming plans including an event for Girl Scouts.