Mentor program wants more girls interested in math, science, tech fields

Retail giant Wal-Mart is partnering with area schools to engage more girls in science, technology, engineering and math fields in the Million Women Mentors program.

The national initiative will launch locally at 10 a.m. Monday in a ceremony to be held at the Red Wall at Arkansas High School, 1500 Jefferson Ave.

Arkansas Lt. Gov. Tim Griffin will attend the public event, along with area STEM leaders, city council members, school administrators and industry representatives.

Diana Lowe, TASD’s director of secondary

curriculum, said the program will provide a unique opportunity to both the girls and their mentors.

“The exposure, the mentorship, the support and encouragement they will get is so important,” she said. “I don’t think girls are really encouraged as much to go into STEM-related fields and I think they’re interested.”

Lowe said the initiative will begin in their district with a small group of girls at College Hill Middle School being teamed up with mentors who register through the program.

“We’re just trying to create an organized way of mentoring girls in STEM,” she said.

Million Women Mentors has a goal of supporting one million STEM mentors nationwide, with the state of Arkansas pledging 5,000 mentors. It is also an initiative of STEM-connector, and has more than 60 national partners, 45 corporate sponsors and 35 state teams.

For more information, or to sign up to be a mentor, contact Lowe at (870) 772-3371. Information on the national program is also available at millionwomenmentors.org.