03/01/2009 Conference gives girls up-close look at possible careers in math, science

By Janine Zúñiga Union-Tribune Staff Writer

2:00 a.m. March 1, 2009

SAN DIEGO - Maria Salazar of Oceanside was surprised that so many organisms lived in her mouth - but there they were yesterday on a slide, magnified 100 times under a microscope.

Maria, 13, an eighth-grader at Madison Middle School in Oceanside, attended a health and medicine workshop on the mouth's unseen bacterial guests at the seventh annual "Expanding Your Horizons" conference targeting middle school girls interested in exploring careers in math and science.

This year's conference was held at the University of San Diego. Sponsors included Qualcomm, Gen-Probe, the General Atomics Sciences Education Foundation, Cubic Corp. and Northrop Grumman Corp. More than 250 USD professors and students, along with scientists, doctors, engineers, veterinarians and other professionals, volunteered for the daylong event.

"Wow," Maria said after viewing her bacteria and cheek cells, colored with dye for better viewing. "It's interesting and fascinating. At the same time, it's kind of scary. You don't know these things are in your mouth."

The conference is geared toward academics, but with an emphasis on "hands-on, fun things," said its president, Sue Lowery.

"We target sixth-through 10th-graders because it's an age at which particularly young women, who had an interest in science and math, say they don't like it anymore," said Lowery, a USD biology professor. "We show them a community of girls and women who share their interests."

Lowery said women make up 46 percent of the country's work force but hold only 27 percent of jobs in engineering and science overall and 12 percent of engineering jobs. She said that while interest in science and mathematics among girls has increased, there is room for more.

For some girls, the conference was an adventure. For others, it was an educational experience like they've never had before. Some had never visited a college campus.

Parents got involved, too. About 90 of them, including Maria Hopper of Linda Vista, had their own workshops to attend.

Hopper said she learned about college admissions and money management.

"I learned how important good writing skills are, and community service," Hopper said. "That makes you stand out. And I learned that you have to start already in middle school looking for grants and financial aid."

Girls from schools around Southern California selected three workshops from a list of 41 topics, including shark dissection, crime-scene sleuths, robotics, and acoustics and sounds.

Janelle Janiec and Maria Albarran, both 13, attended the shark-dissection workshop. Maria, from Vista, hesitantly cut through part of a nearly 3-foot-long dogfish's rough skin with a scalpel, and touched its skin.

"Squishy, ooh," said Maria, an eighth-grader at Madison Middle School in Oceanside.

But when asked if she wanted to touch the shark's liver, Maria had to flee the laboratory. She returned after a few minutes looking refreshed and completed the workshop.

Janelle, who attends Olive Peirce Middle School in Ramona, said her harsh opinion of sharks changed after learning that they aren't mean and ugly, but really smart.

"This was the best dissection I've done so far," said Janelle, who has previously cut open a sheep's eye, a frog and a lima bean. "I learned the cool things about sharks, like they have two extra senses."

Janine Zúñiga: (619) 498-6636; (Contact)