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KAYSVILLE — The Davis School District is making a special effort to keep girls interested in technology.
The Davis Catalyst Center is a magnet school that provides a wide range of courses for high school students, typically for two class periods a day.
On Tuesday, those students were helping to teach the courses to younger students in areas like drones, construction and graphic design.
Students heard from women who work in important tech-related jobs in Utah. Natalie Stromberg, business development coordinator at the Davis Catalyst Center, said girls in fifth through eighth grade tend to drift away from tech interests, often because they are seen as boys' jobs.
"It was fun because I got to use tools that I'm unfamiliar with," Addie Sieb said. But the event was about much more than nails, glue, power tools and lumber; it was about exploring a variety of fields.
They hope to break that stereotype, in part by showing that women can also lead in those career fields.
"The reason we went with the 'tech her' name is because tech-ers are innovators," Stromberg said. "They're empowered people who want to change the world, and these girls really are those tech hers to change the world."
Tuesday was the first ever tech her, but there is some hope it can be done again, thought it hasn't been decided how often they'll have it.
"I feel like, girls can do all that stuff," Maggie Crosby, a fifth grader from Morgan Elementary said. "I think it's been fun, and it was cool."
"We really wanted to show girls that they could see themselves in these empowered women," Stromberg said.
