Female students from Mililani High School participated in the Hawaii-based e-mentoring pilot program, which encourages them to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. Front row, Christie Mattos, Catherine Balderama, Pamela Pang, Megan Terawaki, Cassie Miyamoto, Kelsi Tsukayama, adviser Arlene Kihara (back row), student Shiela Alicar and tech/director Colleen Umetsu, gathered in the school's library.
Pilot project encourages
femalesGirls who score high in math are
granted inspirational mentors
Last year, Mililani High School senior Cassie Miyamoto was part of a team that created a short animation video for a school robotics competition.
"I got hooked," Miyamoto said. "I wanted to pursue it."
This year, Miyamoto took part in a mentoring program at Mililani High, where she received encouragement to pursue a career in animation from a woman involved in the video game industry in Hawaii.
"She gave me a little more in-depth information," Miyamoto said. "She told me what you need to know when you're in that field."
Ten female students from Mililani High School participated in the Hawaii-based e-mentoring pilot program for high school students.
The pilot program -- created by isisHawaii, the Oahu Division of The Women in Technology Project and Mililani High School -- provided mentors for 10 juniors and seniors who are interested in pursuing careers in science, technology, engineering and math.
The mentors, mostly women who have successful jobs in Hawaii, encourage the students to pursue fields where women are underrepresented.
"These role models are so critical," said Lynn Fujioka, executive director for isisHawaii.
Students have contacted their mentors via e-mail at least once a week since the program took off in February. The students and program coordinators will celebrate the completion of the project at a luncheon to be held at Mililani High School Wednesday.
One of the reasons the program was created was to address why female students who score high in math aptitude tests are not pursuing fields such as engineering in higher education.
"There is a huge gap with girls in the primary education levels continuing their education, especially in Hawaii, in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) field," said Fujioka. "Some of these girls are brilliant in computer engineering."
Studies indicated that students who have mentors are more likely to pursue their interest in college.
Officials are looking into expanding the program to two to three schools in the fall. Fujioka said the goal is to bring the mentoring program to public schools throughout the state.
Officials, meanwhile, will spend the summer evaluating how the program worked for both students and mentors.
Miyamoto, who plans to enroll in the New Media Arts program at Kapiolani Community College this fall, said the program was a great opportunity for her.
"I think my mentor and I are going to keep in contact even after the program just in case I need to," she said.
Charlyne Nakamura, a lead technical services engineer at Hawaiian Electric Co., was paired up with 17-year-old student Catherine Balderama.
Nakamura started working in 1978 as a machinist at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, where few women worked in her field.
"There was a lot of sexism. I don't know how much it has changed," said Nakamura.
She left Pearl Harbor in 1985 and started working for HECO.
Nakamura said she participated in the mentoring program because she felt a commitment to get more women involved in engineering.
"I wanted to make it easier for other women and try to make some changes," she said. "Women had to work harder to prove themselves. ... For women, you got to go the extra mile to make you feel valuable."
Balderama said Nakamura gave her a boost to pursue her interest in electrical engineering.
"She made me more confident on what I wanted to do," said Balderama, a senior.
