Introduce A Girl 2 Engineering 2024

Monday, March 4, 2024

Introduce a Girl 2 Engineering (IGE) is an event that occurs during National Engineers Week, where high school students from low-income families are invited to Bakersfield College to expose high school girls to engineering careers and recruit them to the Bakersfield College MESA Program.  The event also serves as a platform for BC-MESA students and young engineering professionals to develop leadership skills.

IGE’s purpose is to increase the number of women in Kern County from socioeconomically disadvantaged backgrounds entering the engineering profession to meet the demand for engineers. The engineering industry needs the creativity, personality, and management skills that are unique to women.

This is the third year IGE was held at Bakersfield College and is entirely paid for by generous donations from our community partners.  Most notably, our 2024 Platinum ($10,000) sponsors, Chevron and CRC Corporation, and 2024 Gold ($5,000) sponsor, Aera Energy.  This year 250 high school students registered and about 20 chaperones accompanied them.  The students were shuttled early in the morning in private charter buses to Bakersfield College for a day filled with speakers, competitions, and a campus tour. 

The event included a marshmallow tower competition where students divided up into teams and were challenged to design and build the tallest structure.  Based on the students’ feedback, this activity was most enjoyable.  The students received prizes, such as colorful Stanley cups, Bluetooth speakers, and $100 cash was awarded to 10 lucky students as a lottery giveaway for asking great questions at the Resource Fair!  Each student received an event shirt with the IGE logo and a goodie bag filled with SWAG.

Students were motivated and excited about pursuing careers in engineering!

To support the BC-MESA Program, visit the Bakersfield College Foundation’s Website and you will find our organization.