Staphany Albu, from left, and Kayla Dyer, Dueitt Middle School eighth graders, work together to assemble a catapult as part of a problem-solving exercise during the ExxonMobil Girls Engineering Festival.

HOUSTON – March 2, 2016 – About 175 Spring ISD female students from each of the district’s middle schools attended the ExxonMobil Girls Engineering Festival recently where they gained experience in construction and problem-solving activities by interacting with ExxonMobil engineers and staff from Texas A&M University.

ExxonMobil staff members encouraged the girls to explore careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Less than 25 percent of jobs in these STEM fields are held by women, and only 14 percent are in engineering, according to the latest Economics and Statistics Administration report.

Shawna Fletcher, the director of women in engineering at Texas A&M University, told the group that engineering impacts the world they live in everyday. “Just about anything that you see or use was engineered by someone,” said Fletcher.

The Spring ISD group joined other area students for the event, as they rotated through activities such as building table-top catapults, examining 3-D printing technology, hearing from industry experts, and interacting with university staff and students to learn what to expect from a career in STEM. The girls were also able to interact with ExxonMobil staff and ask them questions about their experiences.