Grade-school girls show they can do anything

LAS CRUCES — It became pretty clear Saturday there is a world of opportunities awaiting sixth-grade girls in southern New Mexico.

All they need is little mentoring, some role models, and encouragement.

Almost 230 girls from the Hatch, Gadsden and Las Cruces school districts participated in "Girls Can!," a half-day career exploration conference, sponsored by the Las Cruces chapter of the American Association of University Women. The conference was in the Student Resources Building at Doña Ana Community College's East Mesa campus.

"AAUW has been doing this for 23 years," said Ann McCullough, conference coordinator. "The main goal of this conference is to encourage girls to continue their education and pursue their dreams."

It cost each girl $5 to attend the conference. Scholarships were available for any girl who couldn't afford the registration fee.

McCullough said about 100 more girls participated in this year's conference, compared to last year.

The girls participated in three of 10 career workshops. Two of the three each girl got to choose, and third "surprise" workshop was selected for them. The workshops included: theater, law and order, computer science, dental, the aerospace industry, chemical engineering, marine biology, pottery, veterinarian medicine, and nursing.

"It was all really cool," said Analise Montoya, who got a chance to dissect a squid, learn about the aerospace industry, and learn what it would take to become a lawyer.

"This was a fun way to spend a Saturday. So many things to do. (But) I'm not sure what I want to be now. It's all so interesting."

The conference included workshops for parents. They were provided with ways to promote healthy communications between themselves and young girls, tips on how to help manage their daughters' social media use, and were given a better understanding of how to navigate the education system to encourage young girls to continue learning beyond high school.

"This is a lot different than when I was their age," said Celeste Mendosa, of Anthony. "When I was a girl it wasn't said in so many words but kind of implied that you got married and had kids. In the back of my mind I thought that unless you were a brainiac and had a scholarship waiting for you, your chances of going to college and having a career weren't that great. I want better for my daughter, my nieces, they deserve that, they've earned it."

Business professionals and New Mexico State University professors and DACC instructors, all women, conducted non-technical but interesting workshops. Some of their students also helped the girls. The workshop presented by Dr. Kathleen Cordova, a Las Cruces dentist, was titled "Making a Good First Impression." She showed the girls how to make a dental cast of their teeth.

"It's all about impressions, and making good impressions in life," Cordova said.

Beth Tracy, a registered nurse, and DACC nursing instructor, led the nursing workshop. Tracy and about 45 DACC nursing students showed the girls how to take blood pressure readings and discussed the importance of taking blood pressure medications.

"They are enthusiastic," said Tracy, of the girls participating in the workshop. "We're talking to them about how to become a nurse. They're very intelligent, and they have asked a lot of good questions. So many of them really haven't had much of an introduction into nursing. A lot of them have never heard a heartbeat through a stethoscope or learned how to use a blood pressure monitor. (Saturday) they got that chance."

In the chemical engineering workshop NMSU professor Martha Mitchell showed girls how to make green slime, and explained the values of recycling slime. Girls in the marine biology workshop, led by NMSU Regents Professor Michele Nishiguchi, got to dissect a squid

"This is a really good experience for them," said Nishiguchi, whose introduction to marine biology came as a young girl watching Jacques Cousteau documentaries on TV. "So many of these girls won't get a chance to dissect anything probably until high school. It's all about discovery and asking questions.

"Now is a good place for them to start. (Also) it's really important they have good role models in their lives."

Alejandra Enriquez, a NMSU senior majoring in biology, helped Nishiguchi with the workshop. Enriquez said the workshop could become extremely valuable for the sixth-grade girls.

"Being the girl who lived in the desert, so far away from the ocean, I never thought I'd be doing this," said Enriquez, who is from El Paso. "When I was a sixth grader I didn't do anything like this. Something like this can open so many doors for you. To me, the reality is a lot of people aren't good at exploring all of the options available to them. Opportunities like this are important."

Steve Ramirez can be reached at 575-541-5452, sramirez@lcsun-news.com, or @SteveRamirez6 on Twitter.