STEM Kindness Extravaganza: Kindness Chain Challenge

What is the longest chain you can make from one sheet of paper? Spread kindness and math knowledge with this paper chain challenge!

Fall Into STEM Signature Series Featuring Female STEM Professionals and Girlstart’s Leadership

Register to attend our virtual Fall into STEM event on 11/10 featuring these women in STEM!

Moderator: Annette Booker, Samsung Austin Semiconductor

Annette Booker is an award-winning Process Integration Operations Manager at Samsung Austin Semiconductor (SAS) and advocate for women and girls in STEM. She serves as an advisory board member for Women In Technology at Samsung (WITS) and as a member of the Central Texas Council for Girlstart; both organizations focus on empowering and engaging young girls through STEM activities and networking opportunities for women at SAS.

Danielle Twum, Caris Life Sciences

Hailing from Ghana, West Africa, Danielle Twum received her B.A. in Biology from Vassar College where she studied the effects of climate change on coral bleaching. Danielle received her PhD in Cancer Immunology from the University at Buffalo where she studied the immunology of breast cancer metastasis. Dr. Twum currently works as a Molecular Science Liaison at Caris Life Sciences. Dr. Twum is an AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador, an initiative aimed at increasing visibility of women in STEM as role models for young girls.

Angie Cheng, Thermo Fisher

Angie Cheng graduated from Texas A&M University with a Bachelors of Science in Microbiology and Masters in Biotechnology. She has been in R&D for over 18 years developing products and is currently a Sr. R&D Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific in the Sample Prep business unit. Thermo Fisher is responsible for the development of kits/reagents/instruments to enable extraction of nucleic acid from various sample types.

Priya Ramachandran, NI

Priya Ramachandran heads R&D Global Operations at NI. She is responsible for the operational efficiency and effectiveness of NI’s R&D organization, supporting and enabling engineering teams in delivering innovative products. Her division manages financial, talent development, employee engagement, and strategic planning operations. Priya is passionate about building high-performance teams that develop and deliver highly innovative products for both internal and external customers. She started at NI in 2004 as a Digital Design Engineer with a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from Virginia Tech. Priya designed and developed Motion-Vision products before transitioning to become an Engineering Manager. Over the last decade, her technical background and customer advocacy skills have enabled her to coach and lead teams in delivering breakthrough and disruptive innovation. Priya is motivated to bring together globally distributed teams with a common purpose. She strives to foster a growth-mindset culture where learning, diversity, and change are championed and celebrated. Priya is passionate about attracting and encouraging Girls to pursue STEM careers. She loves volunteering for Girlstart and coaching her all-girls FIRST robotics team “The Creative Champions”!

Thank You for Volunteering from Home

Due to the current health situation, Girlstart has not been able to host groups of volunteers for the past several months. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t work to be done, and thankfully volunteers have helped from the safety and comfort of their homes. Throughout the months of April and May, dozens of volunteers have prepped materials as well as assembled kits to serve over 1000 girls across the country for our Summer Camp at Home program!

We are so grateful for everyone’s support and flexibility as we find new ways to volunteer together!

Curbside Pick Up Parties

This summer, Girlstart has pivoted to our new Summer Camp at Home program to ensure the health and safety of our camp community, including campers, staff, and volunteers. Each week campers can stop by one of our regional locations to pick up their Summer Camp at Home kit, which includes 15+ hands-on activities, a comprehensive engineering journal, Girlstart swag, a tiny programmable robot, and access to our digital video library.

Several volunteers joined us at our first Curbside Pick Up Party to distribute kits and cheer on campers as they drove off, all while maintaining a safe distance. We are so appreciative of the help and look forward to hosting more pick up parties throughout the summer! If you would like to join one, sign up online at: www.girlstart.org/volunteer.