Summer camp recruitment makes the grade’

HOUSTON—Compared with the population as a whole, the percentage of female professional engineers is very small. Currently, females comprise only 20 percent of engineering undergraduates, and women hold fewer than a quarter of jobs in all technical fields.

The University of Houston (UH) is hoping to change that. According to its organizers, the Girls Reaching and Demonstrating Excellence (GRADE) Camp, offered through the UH Cullen College of Engineering (CCoE), is making a difference.

"To date, 223 girls have gone through GRADE Camp," said Jenny Ruchhoeft, the educational grants manager for CCoE, who also manages the GRADE Camp program. "We’ve been able to follow up with 40 former GRADE Camp participants who are now college-age, and 65 percent currently are pursuing a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics major." The summer camp for high school girls entering grades nine through 12 is now in its fourth year. This year’s four, one-week sessions will be offered June 19-23, June 26-30, July 10-14, and July 17-21. For more information, including camp scholarship opportunities for those with financial needs, visit the camp website at www.egr.uh.edu/grade.