RMHS teacher encouraging young women to explore science careers

Rebecca Leung is a ready-made model for a teacher who encourages young women to study science, and Mark Koch knows it.

"Rebecca graduated first in her class and is attending Olin College near Boston, the most exclusive engineering school in the country," said Koch, division head of career and technical education at Rolling Meadows High School.

He thinks it's high time more women study and work in the so-called STEM fields - science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Recently, Koch asked Leung to speak at a Rolling Meadows High School breakfast designed to promote science and math careers for young women and to encourage them to prepare by taking a rigorous courseload.

Olin College works for gender balance, said Leung, an Arlington Heights resident, but in other engineering programs she's noticed a preponderance of men.

"It's slowly changing," she told the 30 young women who showed up early on a snowy January morning to hear her.

"There's still a stereotype girls don't do that sort of thing. It could be better."

Many of the teenagers in her audience were already converted. Invitations to the breakfast went to students in honors chemistry and engineering classes, and those on the award-winning WildStang Robotics Team.

Still, girls like Amanda Iaccino, 15, of Mount Prospect, believe Koch's effort is worthwhile.

"I'm really starting to enjoy science; I never thought about a career in it before," she said.

"I do feel like there are more boys than girls, but it's pretty equal in terms in intelligence."

Nandi Roy, 15, also of Mount Prospect, said she is considering medicine or a career in government.

Her father, Sunondo Roy, attended the breakfast too, and confided he would like his daughter to become an engineer. Still, he understands the medical leaning because his wife is a doctor.

"Problem-solving in math and science is gender neutral," he said.

And Veronica Wiley, 16, Rolling Meadows, already has her eyes on the stars.

"I'm always thinking about aerospace engineering," she said. "I've always wanted to work for NASA. I went to space camp when I was 12."

But the battle is not won, and young women need encouragement to study and thrive in these fields where jobs are often available, said Koch.

"On the robotics team I have what I consider a big group of girls - 10 of 66 students," he said, saying it's unusual to more 10 or more girls on a team.

"Historically, the girls I've had in the program dance circles around the boys because they like it and want to learn more to do things."

Last summer at a hearing chaired by Rep. Daniel Lipinski, expert witnesses testified that young women need mentoring to continue advancing in what are traditionally male domains.

Lipinski said the country needs more scientists and engineers to remain a leader in the global economy. Statistics show women are more prominent in medicine than other STEM fields.

"According to the National Science Foundation, although women earned more than half of all science and engineering bachelor's degrees in 2006, they earned only about 20 percent of degrees in engineering, computer science, and physics," the congressman said in a statement reported on his Web site.

Leung chose mechanical engineering because she wants to design solid things rather than work with computer programming. And she credits her involvement in the WildStang Robotics Team for her interest in engineering.

"I think some people definitely go into these fields because there is opportunity and more job security than English majors," she said. "But the majority who choose engineering love problem- solving and hands-on work or in science they like research."

And her message is simple: "Whatever gender you are you can go into whatever field you want."

That's what Koch wants to hear.

"My own daughter is an eighth grader," he said. "And she really likes science. She doesn't know what she wants to do. I don't want her to be discouraged in any way.

"The stigma is off as far as women going into certain careers. It should be 50-50 in my opinion. It's slowly breaking down. The more we encourage that the better."