HEBRON, Ky. — March is Women’s History Month, and female Amazon workers want to inspire middle school girls by taking them on a tour of the northern Kentucky Amazon Air Hub.
Amazon representatives welcomed Conner Middle School female students. Assistant Principal Lois Ellison says this is an important age to show kids what opportunities might lie ahead in their future.
“At the middle school age, it’s really all about exposure. It’s not that you have to have some great perfect track worked out and who you’re going to be as an adult,” Ellison said.
Ellison, other Boone County Schools representatives and girls from Connor Middle caught a glimpse of some of the cool things going on at Amazon—such as the robotics side of their operation. It’s an opportunity to show these girls that women can dominate in STEM fields as well.
“Research shows that less than 30% of females go into stem fields compared to the male counterpart,” Ellison explained. She wants to see that change—and it starts with that exposure.
Their tour was given by women working at Amazon and in STEM fields. The girls even got some hands-on experience working together on a classroom project together.
Women like Sarah Rhoads, vice president of Amazon Global Air, answered questions and shared with these girls potential career opportunities in the STEM field—something she knows hasn’t been available to everybody.
“We provide girls with opportunities and the opportunity to come into the facility to see all the technology they have and to educate and make people aware of what’s out there and not everybody has the opportunity to see that,” Rhoads said.
Rhoads says these young women may grow up to go into STEM fields but some may choose not to. Still, she hopes they see the leadership among the women working at Amazon and are inspired.
“They’re all future leaders! Whether it be here in the local community, in the state or maybe for our country,” Rhoads exclaimed.
Ellison says efforts to expose more young minds to STEM-related fields don’t end with a day-trip to Amazon. She says they’ll get to do a lot more thanks to Amazon $50,000 to help further their efforts in inspiring and teaching kids in those fields.
“Furthering STEM Programs for our students at Conner Middle School. We are excited to bring about some new project lead-the-way courses and also focus on providing some extracurricular opportunities for our female young leaders of tomorrow,” Ellison added.
Amazon employees say they hope this becomes a very memorable experience for the girls and they hope to continue inspiring other young girls to pursue their dreams.