In the nation’s capital, three Latinas in lab coats are on the front lines of the coronavirus pandemic.
Monica Mann, 34; Elizabeth Zelaya, 36; and Connie Maza, 33, analyze Covid-19 samples every day to track the spread of the virus and, more recently, to identify mutations. The three scientists and medical technologists are part of a small team in the Washington, D.C., Department of Forensic Sciences' Public Health Laboratory Division. READ MORE AT NBC NEWS
The under-representation of Hispanic girls in science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers is a challenge being tackled locally.
#Community partners, like Whitman College and the local chapter of the American Association of University Women, are supporting the Garrison Middle School Space Project.
#Answering why Latinas are lacking in STEM fields is trickier to explain.
#“Just in general, girls don’t choose math and science, and Latina girls really don’t,” said Diana Erickson, former bilingual coordinator for Walla Walla Public Schools.
#“I don’t think it has anything to do with intelligence,” Erickson said. “I think it has to do with perhaps roles that we play in life, the male and female gender roles.
#“I think that up to a certain point in school girls are as excited in math and science. And then it just kind of changes.”
#Erickson and her husband, Bill Erickson, are volunteers with the Latino Club at Walla Walla High School. The Ericksons also established a Hispanic Youth Exploring Engineering and Sciences camp that will mark its third summer this year.
#For about the last eight years, the Ericksons have taken teams of Hispanic youths to compete in the Bonneville Power Administration Regional Science Bowl in Portland. READ MORE
