In 1940, under 5 percent of the U.S. population held a bachelor’s degree. Men, at 5.5 percent, were more likely than women at 3.8 percent, to have a college education. Although the 1.7 percentage point gap may appear small, it was big relative to the portion of women with bachelor’s degrees (it would have taken a 45 percent increase among women for them to match men).

Now, nearly 75 years after the Census Bureau began collecting these statistics, the educational attainment of our population has increased to 30 percent -and the gender balance has shifted. For the first time since measurement began in 1940, women were more likely than men to have a bachelor’s degree according to a census report.

The picture is of the 13 AAUW Riverside Branch Tech Trek girls for 2015.  Below are thank you notes from 4 of the 7 Riverside girls who attended the University of San Diego Tech Trek camp this summer.  The notes tell you how much the girls got out of their experiences and the notes are a real testament to the value of the Tech Trek program.

Dear Riverside AAUW,

Thank you for sponsoring me to attend Tech Trek 2015. This experience has helped me mature as a person and given me a clear path to the future. Before this opportunity, I was considering a career in environmental law. Now I am interested in pursuing Computer Science and Software Engineering. I never would have considered this path without exposure to the field in the coding class, and ViaSat field trip, and the prototype engineer — all of these things were introduced to me through Tech Trek. I also gained valuable knowledge about college planning and finance at Tech Trek. Touring a STEM work place at ViaSat and listening to professional women talk about their careers inspired me to pursue a STEM career myself. Tech Trek also showed me that Chemistry can be exciting when Professor Bridges demonstrated elemental reactions. I learned valuable skills and lessons at this camp, and made friends and memories I will never forget. Thank you again for providing me with this life changing experience.

Sincerely,

Isabela Galoustian
STEM Academy

Dear Riverside Branch of AAUW,

Thank you for allowing me to have this wonderous opportunity. It is so awesome to get to meet new people who have a love of Science and Math like me. I am also lucky to get to learn so many things in such a fun ways. Tech Trek has improved my social skills, taught me how to get to college, and will help me get into activities (?) more easily.

My core class was Robotics. It was really cool because we went off campus to Qualcomm to take it. We ate there and got to make hats that move. We got to decorate them, too. One of our field trips was to Sea Camp. I enjoyed a lot of the mini classes like the one about polymers and Math. It was very interesting to be living in the dorms because you are responsible for yourself, not your parents. You also have to develop social skills because you are starting the week living with 10 complete strangers. You have to become friends before Tech Trek can get truly fun. I really like my new friends and will be sure to keep in contact with them.

One of my favorite things we did were the mini classes, they were so fun ! I am a huge fan of hands on learning. I loved that I came out of Chemistry all wet, Physics with a balloon powered car, polymer with hand-made silly putty stuff, Math with a geometric graphed version of my name, and more.

Thank you again for choosing me to go the Tech Trek. I was so excited! I hope I can be a part of AAUW when I get older. This was an amazing week.

Sincerely Yours,

Avery Morse
Central Middle School

Dear Riverside Branch of AAUW,

Thank you so much for selecting me to come to this camp and providing me with an experience of a life time. I really enjoyed coming to Tech Trek and getting a taste of college.

I had the core class of Chemistry which was really fun and amazing. We had an experiment every day which really helped me stay engaged in the classes considering they were 3 hours long. I really enjoyed going to sea camp. It was amazing! We got to dissect a squid, make tattoos out of the squid ink and go on a boat. Furthermore we caught fish and lobster. We also went whale watching but unfortunately we only saw sea lions which were cool and cute.

I also liked going to ViaSat. At ViaSat we were learning about how satellite internet works and how to code using bits. We also got to control small robots called spheros with phones and I pads. Our mini classes back at UCSD were amazing. We made all kinds of cool stuff like silly putty, rockets, even cars. I just loved the energetic vibe and feel of Tech Trek. Everyone including the staff, teachers, and younger counselors were so nice and welcoming. I just wanted to say Thank You so much again.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Kennedey D. Boyette
Central Middle School

Dear Riverside Branch Members,

Thank you so much for supporting me and allowing me to attend Tech Trek. I had such a great time and met so many new awesome people. I’m sure many of them will turn out to be life- long friends. Thank you so much for also supporting my new friend, Katelyn El Fattal from the Riverside Branch. We shared a room along with our new friend, Daphnie. Katelyn and I became best friends so thank you for also sponsoring her for Tech Trek.

My core class was anatomy and I enjoyed it so much. You wouldn’t know by my telling you. First, we learned about the skeletal system. I learned that your knee cap is your patella and that it is a floating bone so you can move it around. We also learned about the cardiovascular system. I learned about the blood flow through your heart. Later, we learned about the muscular system. I learned where my gastrocnemius and pectoralis major is. I had a lot fun in Anatomy at Tech Trek.

At Tech Trek, we also do small workshop classes in the afternoon and evening. We studied Newton’s Third Law and made balloon cars in one workshop. In another workshop, we did Zumba, which is a workout dance. One time we even went on a tour of the UCSD campus!

While at Tech Trek, we also go on field trips. We went to sea camp on Tuesday and dissected a squid. After dissecting a squid, we went on a boat to see a kelp forest and catch fish to look at. On Thursday, we went to visit Viasat,, which is a company that launches satellites into space.

Thank you so much for sponsoring me so I could get the opportunity to live and learn at a university for a week.

Sincerely,
Sydney Magno
Miller Middle School

Erinne Paisley wanted to raise awareness about the significant global educational gap between boys and girls, and to remind others of the privilege of access to secondary education. 

Instead of dropping hundreds of dollars on a dress to celebrate one evening, Erinne Paisley thought she’d help girls around the world access education instead.

The high schooler wore a handmade dress to her prom last month, showcasing a bold message to onlookers when it comes to a person’s gender and their ability to attend school: “I’ve received my education.  Not every woman has that right.. Malala.org.”

The dress — made from Paisley’s recycled math assignments, as CBC News reported — drew attention to the global gap between boys and girls when it comes to education.  According to U.S. Aid, about 62 million girls are barred from school simply because of their gender.

Paisley went on to donate $250.00 to the Malala Fund to help educate girls.

The Department of Education released its outline of a federal college ratings system that aims to recognize schools which excel at enrolling students from all backgrounds, focusing on maintaining college affordability, and helping all students graduate.

As we heard from Dr. Kim Wilcox, Chancellor of UC Riverside, when he spoke to AAUW Riverside in November, UCR fits these suggested categories exceptionally well.

Low income students pay little or no tuition.  UC Riverside has the highest number of Pell Grants of all California universities.  As a consequence, we also have the lowest amount of student debt.  If social mobility, academic quality and community service are the criteria to rank a university,  UC Riverside is ranked number one in the country by Time magazine and number two by Washington Monthly.  Dr. Wilcox states that we are a great public university, and all students, regardless of gender, race or socio-economic status, graduate at the same rate.  This is unusual.  At last UCR is getting the recognition it so richly deserves.