More than 450 7th and 8th grade girls from across Missouri are expected to attend the 21st annual Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) conference on Friday, Sept. 23, on the Missouri S&T campus.

Women volunteers are needed to guide student groups around campus for this event. Volunteers will work from 8:15 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. on Sept. 23, and will receive a free T-shirt and lunch. University students, staff and community members are all encouraged to volunteer. For more information or to sign up, please contact Michelle Pipes at michellepipes@mst.edu, or the Kummer Center for STEM Education at 573-341-6204.

EYH introduces girls in middle school to educational and career options in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. During the single-day conference the girls will participate in hands-on activities and workshops that demonstrate the range of STEM fields offered at Missouri S&T. They will also meet other girls their age who share their interests and hear from professional women in traditionally male-dominated fields.

Marsia Geldert-Murphey, president-elect of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) will deliver the keynote presentation. Geldert-Murphey is an engineering executive with over 30 years of experience who holds a master’s degree in civil engineering from Missouri S&T. Her presentation, “Engineering to Reimagine the World for the Future,” will discuss ASCE’s Future World Vision platform, which encourages users to imagine solutions for the infrastructure of the future.  

All 7th and 8th grade STEM-focused teachers are encouraged to bring up to 30 students per school to participate in the conference. The cost for the event, which includes lunch on campus, is $25 per student. Registration fills quickly, so teachers interested in bringing their students should pre-register as soon as possible at https://connect.mst.edu/register/EYH or by contacting the Kummer Center for STEM Education at stemcenter@mst.edu or 573-341-6204.

About Missouri University of Science and Technology

Missouri University of Science and Technology (Missouri S&T) is a STEM-focused research university of approximately 7,000 students. Part of the four-campus University of Missouri System and located in Rolla, Missouri, Missouri S&T offers 101 degrees in 40 areas of study and is among the nation’s top 10 universities for return on investment, according to Business Insider. S&T also is home to the Kummer Institute, made possible by a $300 million gift from Fred and June Kummer. For more information about Missouri S&T, visit www.mst.edu.