the almanac S e p t e m b e r 15, 2024
SOUTH HILLS COMMUNITY NEWS
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The Bethel Park High School tennis team was one of the organizations operating a booth at community day. Selling mums and cookies were team members: (front) Julia Gobbi and Amelia Lancet, (back) Cassie Sierka, Cami Fisher, Mackenzie Smock, Mia Hogue.
HIGH SCHOOL BAND FESTIVALS HIGHLIGHT FALL SCHEDULE PAGE A5
PHOTOS: ELEANOR BAILEY/ THE ALMANAC
FAMILY FUN Community Day
DEFENSE CONTINUES TO BE PETERS TOWNSHIP’S RECIPE FOR SUCCESS PAGE B1
shines bright light on Bethel Park By Eleanor Bailey Almanac Sports Editor ebailey@thealmanac.net
Bethel Park Community Day had something for everyone: a parade, candy, flowers, games and plenty of vendors selling wares to turn a profit for their organizations. Rayna Honkus, 5, came for the candy and the parade. “That was the best part,” she said. Honkus and her family stayed for the amusement. She and her brother, Reece, 3, enjoyed the inflatable slides. Other attractions included a petting zoo, dunk tank, face painting and miniature golf. There even was a tub filled with plastic lightweight bubbles and ABOVE LEFT: Carter Fawcett models the hat that he received at the Bethel Park Volunteer Fire blocks surrounded by rocking Department’s booth. ABOVE RIGHT: Rayna Honkus, 5, holds the hand of her brother, Reece, 3, SEE FUN PAGE A2 as they ride down an inflatable slide during Bethel Park Community Day.
HISTORY AND ENTERTAINMENT INTERSECT IN ‘HAMILTON’ PAGE B3 What’s happening, B3 Real estate transactions, A6 Classifieds, B4-6
Closing the gender gap Bethel Park student holds engineering camp for girls By Paul Paterra Staff writer
Lyla Walsh works on a hands-on activity with some of the girls who attended her “A Girl’s Guide to Engineering” summer camp.
ppaterra@observer-reporter.com
Lyla Walsh saw a need and sprung to action. The Bethel Park High School senior recognized a gender gap exists in the engineering field and decided to hold a summer camp for young girls in an effort to stir interest in the profession. Walsh, 17, hosted “A Girl’s Guide to Engineering” camp over four days in June at the Upper St. Clair Township Library. Eighteen girls from schools in the South Hills attended. It was part of Walsh’s efforts to achieve her Girls Scout Gold Award. “You have to address an issue that you care about in your community,” Walsh said recently. “The issue I saw was the lack of girls in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). Originally, I was going to do
PHOTOS COURTESY OF LYLA WALSH
Lyla Walsh, right, an incoming senior at Bethel Park High Schooll, ran “A Girl’s Guide to Engineering” summer camp. Among the professional women in engineering who spoke to the participants were Nina Carney, left, and Miranda Slowkowskl of Menard Ground Improvement Specialists.
a STEM camp, but the more I researched, the more I wanted to focus on engineering specifically.” According to the Society for Women Engineers (SWE), only 14% of working engineers in the United States are women. In contrast, 37% of medical doctors and 59% of pharmacists are female.
During each two-hour session, participants were involved in various hands-on projects, such as a Paper Tower Challenge, where girls worked to build the tallest standing tower. The camp also included a visit each day from professional women in various fields in engineering, such as mechanical, civil and geotechni-
cal, nuclear and environmental, and chemical. “I reached out to the Society of Women Engineers and told them the days of the camp and they found people that might be interested and I reached out to them and explained the camp,” Walsh said. The Pittsburgh office of the Society of Women Engineers
was also instrumental in assisting with the camp. Mary Zeis, SWENext coordinator, became Walsh’s project adviser and provided her with support, ranging from offering guidance on talking to tween girls about engineering to running a hands-on STEM Outreach event. Zeis said since Walsh was just a few years older than the participants, she was more relatable to them. “I thought Lyla’s idea of an engineering camp for girls was a wonderful idea,” Zeis said. “It was an opportunity for young girls to learn about engineering. So many people, even adults, don’t know what engineering is. The girls got to meet women engineers, and they got to practice problem solving and teamwork by do-
ing the hands-on activities. I know that Lyla was working hard to build in the theme that engineers help people and make a difference in the world. These humanistic values have been shown to be impactful with young girls, and can positively influence their interest in engineering.” Walsh considers herself a “math and science person” and has taken advanced courses in those subjects in high school. She will start applying to colleges soon and is considering a career in mechanical engineering. “Engineering is the one that stuck out the most to me, but I definitely didn’t know as much about engineering as I do now since the camp,” SEE CAMP PAGE A4