CIBOLA COUNTY, N.M. – During the summer of 2021, three girls from across Cibola County were given the opportunity to participate in this year’s virtual Tech Trek activities. According to https://techtreknm.aauw.net/, “Tech Trek New Mexico is a weeklong camp at [the] New Mexico Tech campus in Socorro, N.M. for girls who are passionate about Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).” Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the camp was held virtually this year, but it still included many of the same lessons and components it did from a regular, in-person camp. According to New Mexico teacher Cheryl Kerby, this included “a daily three hour core class, workshops, field trips, and a Q[&]A session with women professionals in STEM careers from around the state.”
The camp is sponsored the by American Association of University Women (AAUW), among other or ganizations. This year’s participants from Cibola County included Acoma’s very own Destiny Chino, new Laguna’s Janine Tsethlikai, and Grants’ Kylee Sandoval. Chino is now in the ninth grade at Santa Fe Indian School, Tsethlikai is also in the ninth grade at Santa Fe Indian School, and Sandoval is in the eighth grade attending Los Alamitos Middle School. Science and math teachers from LAMS and Laguna Middle School nominated the girls to apply for the summer camp, and then everything the girls needed to participate in activities was sent to them through the mail.
According to Kerby, each of the girls were able to participate in different courses in the camp that interested them. “Destiny Chino participated in the Wearable Tech Core Class, sponsored by Qualcomm’s Thinkabit Labs,” wrote Kerby to the Cibola Citizen. “She learned how to build electronic circuits and control the components by coding an Arduino Micro Processor. Her final product was a wearable backpack that incorporated an ultrasonic sensor to alert the wearer of dangers behind them and to light up LEDs as a warning to anyone approaching.”
As for Tsethlikai and Sandoval, Kerby said the two girls participated in a core class about cyber security and related topics. “Janine Tsethlikai and Kylee Sandoval had the opportunity to investigate cyber security and learned what it takes to become a White Hat Hacker, one of the “good guys”. They learned about codes and cyphers and how to go about breaking both. They also learned how to become a more secure user of the internet,” shared Kerby.
Other topics covered in workshops during the virtual camp include drone technology, forensic science, hydrology, and solar cars. The girls even had the opportunity to virtually visit and take tours of places such as Very Large Array in Socorro County, Spaceport America in Sierra County, and the Bosque del Apache in San Antonio, N.M. According to the Tech Trek N.M. website, “At Tech Trek, girls are immersed in a world that empowers and encourages them to think about themselves as future scientists, engineers, mathematicians, and computer specialists.”
Tsethlikai spoke about the experience and what she enjoyed most about it, saying “I enjoyed the challenging activities that they had to offer, and I really loved how welcoming they were, not only to me, but to everyone who attended the online summer camp.” Tsethlikai continued by talking about her future and how Tech Trek contributed, “I am interested in pursuing a career in medical science in the military and Tech Trek for sure set me on the right track to pursuing my dream career.”
Another of the three young girls, Sandoval, also appreciated the summertime experience, adding, “What I enjoyed most were the other students I met around the state and the projects that we did here at home… Tech Trek was a great opportunity and I hope that any career I choose, I can make a difference in this world for the greater good!”
Finally, Chino added her thoughts, saying, “I was fortunate to attend [the] New Mexico Tech Trek camp for my 7th grade and 8th grade summers, virtually because of the COVID-19 pandemic… The activity I loved most about the Tech Trek camp was not only the hands-on activities I got to do, but also the virtual presentations and discussions with professional women who have math or science careers. I was overjoyed to meet women engineers who work for NASA, pediatricians in major hospitals, and women who work in the Sandia National Laboratories. These all interested me significantly, making me want to pursue a career in health care as a Pediatrician. The New Mexico Tech Trek gave me insight to possible careers for women with modern technologies to persevere in professions where a long time ago only men were chosen for those positions. Women just as smart and successful as men are now educating themselves and engaging in careers that involve math and science. This greatly motivates them and encourages selfesteem in young women of today to pursue and achieve their goals in life however small or great they are. I strongly encourage young girls to join the New Mexico Tech Trek summer camp program!”