Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) middle school students recently attended AWS Girls' Tech Day, an event designed to inspire girls and young women to explore science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics (STEAM) fields. The event, held on Oct. 5, 2024, at Amazon's second headquarters in Arlington, VA, was organized by the LCPS Computer Science Office.
Amazon Web Services (AWS), through the Loudoun Education Foundation, sponsored eight buses and provided compensation for teacher chaperones to facilitate the field trip. A total of 215 LCPS students participated in the event, which featured panels of women from leading companies like NASA and AWS.
The students engaged in interactive workshops on a range of topics, including forensic science, LED light sculpting and programming robotic cars. The event was part of an ongoing effort to motivate young women to consider careers in STEAM, fields where women remain underrepresented. Women account for only 34% of the STEM workforce, and men outnumber women in most STEM college majors.
Studies show that programs like AWS Girls' Tech Day have a significant impact, increasing participants' interest in engineering, boosting creative confidence and broadening their perceptions of career options. AWS Girls' Tech Day, now in its sixth year in Virginia, has influenced more than 21,000 young women globally.