Too few girls pursue careers in technology, computer science, engineering, and the complement of eSTEAM subjects. All over the country, parents, teachers and industry leaders have studied, surveyed, incentivized, intervened, mentored, recruited. They’ve done everything they think they can do to encourage more girls to pursue eSTEAM. There are fantastic programs, such as First Bytes,…
In my last two posts, I’ve been sharing the story of Bri Connelly, who learned grit and determination in devoting herself to dance—which proved invaluable as she moved into computer science (she is now an associate product manager at Google). While Bri Connelly was studying at the University of Texas at Austin, her school was…
In my last post, I began sharing the story of Bri Connelly, who is now an associate product manager at Google. She learned a lot about grit and determination from putting in the time to master dance as a young woman. She hadn’t yet moved into computer science—the field her father was in—but that would…
By thinking entrepreneurially and diving into ESTEAM education, girls can become the leaders that our economy and society needs. In these next few blogs, I will tell you the story of one brilliant entrepreneur, Bri Connelly, who learned grit and determination and applied it to her career. Computer science wasn’t on Bri Connelly’s radar as…
Our nation’s future depends on instilling entrepreneurial skills in all students, with a focus on diversity and inclusion. Learn how fostering curiosity, confidence, and a growth mindset in young women can reshape the future of business and innovation.
You might think that the U.S. must lead the world in teaching entrepreneurial skills to our youth. Actually, no. Many school officials under pressure to raise test scores are understandably resistant to any proposal that requires more classroom time with so many competing demands. Good intentions have led the U.S. to obsess on raising standardized…
“True entrepreneurs are rare—and getting rarer. Yet it is crucial to our economy and national security that we find them,” says Jim Clifton, CEO of Gallup, whose company closely watches social trends. “Without a growing entrepreneurial economy, there are no new good jobs,” he says. “We are focused on innovation. But what we need are…
I’ve been sharing the story of my life as an outlier—a Hispanic woman, engineer and entrepreneur—to show how my profound enthusiasm for encouraging girls to learn entrepreneurialism was born. I’m continuing my story here. While I was teaching entrepreneurship at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas, I observed the lack of confidence of many young…
I’ve been sharing the story of my life as a Hispanic woman engineer, and why my career and background led me to being so driven to help teach girls entrepreneurialism and confidence. I’m continuing my story here. As a product development engineer at 3M, I designed copper connectors for automated test equipment. For a lot…
In my last post, I began sharing the story of my life as an outlier—a Latina woman who became an engineer in a male-dominated field—to tell you a bit about why I’m so passionate about teaching entrepreneurialism, and confidence, to girls. Thanks to my parents’ support for my being independent and for my curiosity, I…
I’d like to share my story with you so that you can understand my passion for entrepreneurial learning. I am an outlier: a female scientist and technology entrepreneur from the unlikeliest of circumstances. My father was an orphan, living on the streets of Mexico City at the age of 10. Like many American children—like children everywhere,…
Can children be induced to adopt a growth mindset? We encourage children to dream up new ideas, whether gigantic or nano-sized—often intersecting several disciplines. Whether or not children think they are “good” at various subjects, we encourage them to go where their ideas lead them. Who has ever accomplished something startlingly new without believing it…
Your brain can change. It can grow. You can develop new abilities to do things you never thought possible. At VentureLab, we begin each entrepreneurial course with these types of thoughts. We encourage children to work through their fear of failure and dispel notions of their own “weaknesses,” pessimistic preconceptions, and subconscious thought patterns that can hold…
In my last few posts, I’ve looked at how important it is to recognize that boys and girls learn differently, and that in order to help them learn equally well, and to equip girls for the future despite society’s biases, parents and teachers must help girls become more confident at an early age. At the same…
In my last post, I explored how some researchers are trying to present evidence of gender differences to teachers and parents that can help them understand how to best help them learn better. Boys and girls are different. They learn differently, and they communicate differently. But each is equally capable of achievement in STEAM fields. It’s…
At one time, even hinting at the existence of any innate differences between girls and boys could make one a target of chauvinism. It was safer for many people not to question the then-conventional wisdom: that the best way to raise children was “gender neutral,” to treat girls and boys exactly the same. If we…
We’re on a mission to create the next generation of diverse innovators and changemakers by making entrepreneurship education accessible to ALL youth.
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