By Liz Coffin-KarlinThe Daily Northwestern
Allison Dining Hall was filled with the chatter of young girls Thursday.
The girls, many of them sporting backpacks reading "Northwestern University Cherishes our Daughters," nibbled on chocolate chip cookies with Northwestern staff members while listening to Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance."
About 200 girls, ages nine to 16, spent the day learning skills from making sushi to dissecting ovaries on NU's Evanston campus. Another 90 girls participated in similar activities on the Chicago campus.
For the 13th year in a row, NU participated in "Take Our Daughters to Work Day: Revolutionizing the Work Place." The event brought girls associated with NU staff members for an event aimed at exploring different career paths available to women.
Organized by NU's Women's Center, the event began as a response to disproportionately large numbers of women dropping out of math and science majors, as well as small numbers of successful women in professional fields, such as engineering and medicine, said Renee Redd, director of the Women's Center and organizer of the event.
Redd said she believes such days give girls the opportunity to see successful female role models in their places of business.
She also said since NU has such a variety of activities available, having the event at the university "provides a unique opportunity."
The girls could choose among 15 "tracks," each of which included three separate tour activities.
Activities included watching a dance presentation by Graffiti Dancers, playing a soccer game with the NU women's soccer team, and learning about robotics and their applicability to physical therapy through the mechanical engineering department.
The girls ate lunch at Allison and listened to mother-and-daughter speakers give advice about living successfully.
Debra DaRosa, a professor of surgical education at the Feinberg School of Medicine talked about her journey from criminology to medicine.
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Kate Donalek
posted 4/27/07 @ 5:11 PM CST
The Women's Center thanks all of the volunteers from across the university who contributed to this year's successful Take Our Daughters to Work Day. This event is only possible because of the commitment of staff, students and faculty who offer their time and experience by joining the planning committee, sponsoring a girl, chaperoning a group or offering a session about their work. (Continued…)
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