“AAUW is all about empowering women,” she said. “We need to let them know what their options are for their future.”
This year’s event featured informational sessions on 25 different professions including nursing, animal husbandry, forensic science, piloting, psychology, veterinary medicine, neurology, optometry, computer programming and software engineering.
Despite the pouring rain, the girls navigated through Simpson University’s campus looking for their informational sessions.
Kaylee Wood, 13, of Janesville said she had good time learning about the differences between alpacas and llamas in her animal husbandry informational session. She plans on working with animals and becoming a veterinarian herself.
“I think it’s going to help me more about career options,” Wood said about the conference.
Wood made her way to the informational session about software engineering, which was being taught by Brandy Camacho. She introduced the young women in her session to coding, website development, mobile application development, and the idea of “working remotely.”
“I get to work in my pajamas. Can you believe how cool that is?” Camacho told her class.
Camacho also explained how women make up half the workforce, but only hold 25 percent of the jobs in the technology industry.
She said software engineering is a diverse field that encourages creativity. She gave the example of the iFart mobile application that was created in 2008 and has grossed over $2 million.
“We need more women in this industry,” she said. “You get to be creative as you want.”