CALDWELL, Idaho — Boise non-profit Women Innovators held their annual SheTech convention on Tuesday, to help inspire high school girls in the Treasure Valley.
Borah High School Senior Nina Hazwe Mireill said, "seeing a lot of people here trying to get out of their comfort zone and do something that is mostly for men, inspires me to do more.”
20 schools across the Treasure Valley met at the College of Idaho campus to learn about STEM-related careers.
SheTech Event Lead Rachael Hogan said, “SheTech is a one-day tech conference for high school girls where they get to explore all things stem and innovation related."
Each student had the choice of two workshops including one from BSU’s Boise Applied Biomechanics of Infants’ (BABI).
BSU’s BABI Grad Assistant Sabrina Mead said, "I'm hoping to be able to get other people excited about STEM, and then let people know that if there's something that they would like to do, that they're capable of doing it; or maybe if they're curious and didn't know what this stuff is about, they can learn a little bit more and get excited about it.”
SheTech event lead Rachael Hogan said it is important to create opportunities for young women to learn about STEM.
"It's really showing them that stem isn't just for men. It's not just their math and science class. It can be so much more,” Hogan said.
Nina Hazwe has been going since she started high school. She said her excitement grows each time she attends the convention.
“Last year when I came here, there was an engineer who made an expanding shoe, and it went to Africa," Hazwe said. "That was also another way to help people. So, instead of treating people, I can also invent things to help others."
For Nina Hazwe, it is an avenue to help her pave the way for others in her community.
“It's a hard career," Hazwe said, "it's mostly men so being a woman in STEM is a good opportunity. It makes you more powerful because you're doing something that women usually didn't do back then, and you're doing it for yourself and others."
Watch more Local News:
See the latest news from around the Treasure Valley and the Gem State in our YouTube playlist: