Girls in STEM 2025
On March 10, 2025, the Black Gold School Division hosted its fifth biannual "Girls in STEM" event at Ohpaho Secondary School, bringing together girls and gender-diverse students in Grades 8-12 for a day filled with exploration and inspiration in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math.
“The focus of the day is to expose these girls to all the different opportunities that are out there that they might not have known were even an opportunity for them,” said Tarynne Cable, the Assistant Principal at École Leduc Estates School who helped organize the event.
Participants engaged in hands-on workshops that included flying drones, building hydrogen cell mini-cars, working on solar lanterns, and creating water filtration systems. These activities were designed to stimulate curiosity and encourage the next generation of innovators to explore their interests in STEM.
The event featured a keynote address by Jillian Kowalchuk, who spoke on the significance of artificial intelligence in our daily lives and its growing role in various STEM fields. Kowalchuk highlighted the importance of diversity in these areas, saying, “It's so important to have events like this because we know that there aren't enough diverse voices in STEM still, even to this day. I shared a statistic with the girls and gender-diverse students that only 22% of the AI talent pool globally is comprised of women.”
The successful gathering not only provided invaluable experiences for the students but also aimed to inspire them to pursue careers in STEM, helping pave the way to a more diverse and
innovative future.
