By Lara Fernandes ‘18 and Anisha Kabir ‘19

On November 19th, the Notre Dame San Jose robotics team hosted its third annual Young Women’s Engineering Symposium (YWES). It sought to provide resources and inspiration to young women considering engineering and encourage young women to pursue studies and careers in technical fields. Minh-Chau Doan '17 and Rikako Shimizu '17 directed the symposium as part of their Senior Service Learning Project. 

YWES featured women engineers from various technical fields, such as computer, mechanical, and bio engineering. These presenters hosted workshops centered around their area of engineering and the various projects they have worked on, while also helping participants grow in “life skills.” Following the workshops was an open panel discussion where attendees asked speakers about their experiences as women in engineering. Six months of planning culminated in a very successful event: 10 female engineers presenting and close to 90 high school girls attending. 

There is a gender gap present in robotics teams and technical fields. However, there is also a lot of opportunity and potential for girls in STEM. “We hope that you leave the Young Women’s Engineering Symposium empowered, confident, and inspired as you continue to expand your horizons in engineering” were the closing remarks of the day.