Alayah Irby wants to be a mechanical engineer when she grows up.
The 13-year-old seventh grade student at Amphitheater Middle School says she's really good at math, so engineering is her thing.
She gets her smarts from her dad, who, at one time, built cars and gave them to people who couldn't afford to buy them.
"He's really smart," Alayah says.
Alayah was one of about 80 students in attendance at an event last Tuesday held for the Girl Power! Science and Engineering Club of Amphitheater Middle School, that paired students with mentors in hopes of inspiring them to explore careers in science and engineering fields.
The event included activities where girls had to work together to collect objects from their table and drop them in a cup, using string and no hands, and build something out of Legos to represent how they would change the world.
Here's what the girls were challenged to do:
Students heard speeches and watched a video that featured women engineers from Ford Motor Company. Their message was clear: Be tenacious. Dream big. Have confidence and never quit.
Elishka Jepson, a local rocket scientist and designer at Princess Awesome ended her speech with three pieces of advice for the girls: Never stop learning or improving yourself. Surround yourself with a good support system. Don't be afraid to take chances and calculated risks.
"We think we have to be perfect, but we often learn more from our mistakes," Jepson said. "It's important to be able to take risks. That's how progress is achieved. Get out of that 'failure is horrible' mindset."
Alayah is taking those messages to heart.
"I never thought girls had a chance to do something with STEM," said Alayah Irby, a 13-year-old seventh-grade student. "I think it would be cool to show the world that not only men can create new technology."
Leslie Ortiz, left, and Ariana Resendiz work on building a structure with Legos as part of an activity during a Girl Power event.
About Girl Power
Girl Power!Science and Engineering Club was created by Scott Weiler, an engineering, coding, video production and robotics teacher at Amphi Middle School, in 2012.
His wife was pregnant at the time with his now four-year-old daughter and he wanted her to grow up in a world where girls could do "nerdy" things, too.
"I'm a nerd and I want to see my daughter be able to be nerdy like I am," Weiler said. "I'm tired of seeing girls want to do those things but be told they can't."
He set up the club to pair girls up with mentors at events with the hopes of exposing them to STEM professions.
"I was a long-term sub at this school and had this bright girl who finished what she needed to get a C," Weiler said. "So I said if you do this, you can get a B or if you do this, you can get an A."
The girl said no, she was happy with the C.
So, he asked her what her career ambitions were. Her answer? An assistant manager at Jack in the Box, because that's what her mom did and made enough to support the family.
That's when he knew he had to do something.
"I became aware that the girls in our schools weren't meeting women in STEM fields," Weiler said. "They weren't seeing it, so they didn't want it."
It started out with Amphi Middle School and extended to Amphi High School last year. At the high school level, Girl Power is fully student run, Weiler said. And, all of the high school members have been accepted into college.
"Our population doesn't have high college ambition, but we are helping them see that dreams aren't impossible," Weiler said. "We're trying to take out the buts or why they can't do things."
All activities take place during school hours for two reasons: so the girls don't have to choose between the club and doing sports and because many of the students at Amphi have to help with their families after school.
Middle and high schoolers participate in an activity during a Girl Power event at Tucson Electric Power, 88 E. Broadway.
Participating in club activities is free for the girls.
"We don't give them reasons to quit," Weiler said.
Girl Power is community funded and has had different sponsors over the years. This year, Tucson Electric Power is funding the program.
"The more opportunities we can provide students in careers they normally wouldn't think of is important," said Wendy Erica Werden, manager of community investment at TEP. "But, also pairing them with mentors that are here shows them real world examples of women that are professionals in their careers every day."
Other field trips the club will participate in are a STEM conference in Phoenix and a tour of Raytheon.
Leslie Ortiz, left, and Ariana Resendiz work on building a structure with Legos as part of an activity during a Girl Power event at Tucson Electric Power.
Dreaming big
Mia Hernandez, a 13-year-old eighth grade student, has been a part of Girl Power since sixth grade.
She is interested in toxicology. More specifically, curing cancer.
Participating in the program and talking to women in engineering has expanded her knowledge, Mia said. Plus, she has a great support network in her family.
As a senior in high school, Vanessa Ruiz, 18, isn't totally sure of what she wants to specialize in, but knows it's going to be in the medical field.
She has been involved with Girl Power since it started when she was in eighth grade.
"It's definitely been empowering," Vanessa said. "It's been very inspiring to see so many women excel in the fields that they do."
For young girls newly-interested in STEM, she shared some advice.
"Don't be afraid. I think failure makes us scared and I think it's one of the most important ways for us to learn," Vanessa said. "Through failure I've learned how strong I am."
Without using their hands, the girls had to use strings to place the yellow beads into a cup during a Girl Power event.
How to participate and how to help
Girls in grades six through 12 at Amphi Middle or High Schools have to be nominated by a STEM teacher to participate.
The school can only invite 60 girls to the events because that's what they can fit into one school bus, Weiler said. This year, there were 180 nominees.
"If a girl wants to participate, I tell them to take a STEM class and tell the teacher to nominate them," Weiler said.
Girl Power is always looking for women mentors in STEM fields. It also takes monetary donations. Anyone interested in helping can email Weiler at sweiler@amphi.com.
"I don't turn away anyone who wants to help," Weiler said.
