Young Women’s STEAM Academy and Solar Preparatory School for Girls Receive Grants to Encourage Girls’ Engagement in STEM

6/24/21—Thanks to a generous gift from Lyda Hill Philanthropies, Texas Women’s Foundation awarded grants to Young Women’s STEAM Academy and Solar Preparatory School for Girls to increase usage of the IF/THEN Collection, the world’s largest free resource of photos, videos, and biographies celebrating diverse, contemporary women in STEM careers and roles.

The funds will cover the cost of printing and displaying the IF/THEN Collection at the two schools to highlight and elevate STEM role models in order to inspire young girls to pursue STEM careers. The campuses will purchase digital media to display the images outdoors for the benefit of the community as well as in the hallways so that girls can read and learn about these women as they transition classes and in large community areas, such as the cafeteria.

“The idea is to inspire our girls and young women with authentic and relatable images of women in STEM since most of the scientists they see in textbooks don’t look like them,” said Nancy Bernardino, a member of the NCGS Board of Trustee and Executive Director of both schools. “We are very thankful to Lyda Hill Philanthropies and the Texas Women’s Foundation for supporting our students in this way.”