Real I.M.P.A.C.T Center, Inc. will host its annual Girl Power STEM Showcase on Thursday, July 27, from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., at Penfield Hall on Mercer University’s Macon campus. Girls in third through eighth grades will showcase hands-on STEAM activities they learned during their four weeks at Girl Power STEM Camp. All curriculum was designed and taught by Mercer University’s Woodrow Wilson Georgia Teaching Fellows, Quality Enhancement Plan Fellows and professors from the School of Engineering, Tift College of Education and Penfield College. During the STEM Showcase, parents, educators, partners and community leaders will go on a scavenger hunt with campers to explore fingerprinting, blood analysis, hair sample analysis, simple circuits, robotics and more. The event will draw a unique crowd as these girls gear up to head back to school already prepared for math and science.
 
“Currently, in the United States, women represent only 24 percent of the STEM workforce, and our goal is to expose Central Georgia girls to STEM- and STEAM-related careers and increase their academic interest in math and science,” said Geneva West, founder and executive director for the Real I.M.P.A.C.T. Center, Inc. Since 2013, the non-profit organization has exposed more than 1,000 girls to STEM through hands-on programming.
 
According to West, Real I.M.P.A.C.T is the only organization in the region offering a year-round STEM program for girls. “We want to empower girls by helping them bolster their confidence and enhance creative and critical-thinking skills. Our program attracts students throughout Georgia. This year, 65 students represent several school districts, locally and abroad, from Germany to Jasper, Bibb, Houston, Jones, and Peach counties,” said West, who is also the mother of two STEMtastic Girl Campers.
 
Some scholarships were provided by individual sponsors, Google and the Macon-Bibb Economic Opportunity Council. “Joining forces with Tift College Woodrow Wilson Fellows and QEP Fellows from Mercer University to empower girls in science, technology, engineering, art and math is an all-around win for everyone involved,” said West. “The thought of girls walking away excited about an enhanced possibility to take charge of their future right now is priceless as we all prepare for back to school.”