Workshop tips and tricks

EYH Workshops are the “Bread and Butter” of every EYH conference.

Why be a workshop leader?  EYH Workshop Leaaders…

• Encourage some young women to go on to become full-fledged STEM professionals.
• Inform girls that there are many varied possible STEM careers (that are enjoyable, pay well and contribute to society).
• Help girls overcome prejudices that theymay have about women who work in STEM.  Conferences demonstrate by example that these women are interesting, admirable, creative people who are active and fulfilled at work and in their personal lives.
• Educate girls that STEM courses are increasingly important in preparing them for many careers, including many that they and others don’t think of as based on math and science.
• Expand the horizons of some girls, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, encouraging them to raise their sights and expectations and to consider STEM or STEM-related careers.
• Increase girls’ comfort levels with and interest in STEM, so that they are more likely to be confident users of STEM products and services in their everyday lives.

EYH  Workshop leaders are professional women (we call them role models) who work with the girls at their local EYH’s.   You don’t need any special skills or talents to be an EYH workshop leader. You don’t even need prior experience working with teenagers. All you need is the ability to share aspects of your job enthusiastically and help the girls understand what you do in your daily job.

The girls will have a great experience at the conference if they find your workshop exciting, interesting and engaging.

Before reading this section, you might want to watch our workshop leader video.

We’ve put together a workshop leader packet to give you some tips and pointers. (Contact your conference coordinator if you have not yet received one.) Here is a short summary of some of the information found in the packet.

It’s very important that you spend a little bit of time before the conference thinking about how you will introduce your workshop. It is IMPERATIVE that you begin your workshop with an introduction about yourself. This intro should be about 5 minutes in length.

Please begin your workshop by talking a bit about your background and about why you decided to study math before you begin the main workshop activity. The young women want to hear about you! Please address at least three of the following topics:

• Where do I work?
• How long have I been at my current job?
• What classes did I take in high school and college to prepare for my job?
• What other types of work did I do before this current job?
• What advice would I give to young women who are interested in a similar career?
• How does my family life impact my job?
• What are the best and worst aspects of my job?

Each workshop features at least one fun-filled hands-on activity that engages the young women for the VAST majority of the time. View sample workshops

Be sure to plan an activity where the young women will have a POSTIVE experience. Don’t make the workshop too long or complicated. We want every participant to feel successful in her scientific or engineering activity.

Other tips for success

• Stress that the young women should take as much math and science as possible in high school and beyond to prepare for a satisfying career.
• Leave plenty of time for questions and comments at the end.
• Make your wrap-up brief and if you feel comfortable, encourage the young women to contact you after the conference if they have additonal questions about the workshop activity or about what you do in your job.

Get more tips and tricks by watching our new EYH Workshop Leader video. Watch it now!