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Teen pushes for more girls in technology

By Phyllis Coulter
pcoulter@pantagraph.com

NORMAL — Kaleigh Butler had so much fun at an annual event that motivates girls to get involved with technology, she became a group leader this year.

As a Normal Community High school freshman, she was too old to participate.

Butler, 14, attended the Millennium Girls program in fifth through eighth grade, the four years in which she was eligible. She jumped at the chance this year to come back as a group leader.

“When me and my friends hang out, we use computers,” she said.

She had that in common with many of the 200 girls participating at the daylong event Saturday at State Farm Insurance Cos.’ Corporate South campus.

Last year, 160 students from McLean County schools attended. The event grew to accommodate 200 this year, said Patty Guamond, an assistant vice president at State Farm and a member of the company’s Women and Technology group.

Some of Butler’s favorite activities over the years included making a digital magazine cover with her own face on it, creating an iron-on decal for a T-shirt and producing a Web page.

This year, students divided into four workshops in which they tried their hands at engineering and computer tasks. They rigged ways to drop “egg astronauts” 6 feet without breaking them, worked on a bridge design simulation program, created a Web site, and made a photo story with a video.

Yes Tech Cafe

Students also visited the Yes Tech Cafe, which included displays by universities, Bloomington Area Vocational Center, Heartland Community College, engineering firms and the police.

Keynote speaker Shari Buckellew of the Children’s Discovery Museum talked to the students about excitement.

Illinois State University started Millennium Girls about nine years ago, and State Farm Insurance Cos. became the host as the program grew and needed more funding.

Sheridan Kelly, a student at Towanda Elementary School, discovered that the conference is a hands-on experience. She helped design a space capsule using drinking straws and plastic for her raw egg.

Marla Brotherton, who works in the systems department at State Farm Insurance Cos., admitted to being a technology fan who loves her job.

“Technology is the relationship between society and the tools we use,” she said.

Even with so many new, high-tech gadgets, there are plenty of new things waiting to be invented. “Think of how you can change the culture,” Brotherton said.

One of her favorite new inventions is chewing gum that doesn’t stick, a product invented by Revolymer, a British company.

“What a great invention,” she said, adding that a University of Illinois professor is trying to perfect a gum made out of corn products instead of the current synthetics.

“Think of what you can do with technology. Take something simple and improve it,” she said.

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Reader comments on this story - 6 total

Note: All views and opinions expressed in reader comments are solely those of the individual submitting the comment, and not those of the Pantagraph or its staff.

to Girls Rule, Guys Suffer wrote on Oct 14, 2007 7:42 PM:

" What about the football team??? Oh yeah, you're talking about programs that treat guys as something other than animals with a testosterone overload. Would be nice! "

To "Just Wondering" wrote on Oct 14, 2007 3:07 PM:

" Maybe when men are underrepresented and underpaid for equal work we'll see a "Millenium Guys" program- don't worry, we'll get there someday. "

to Just Wondering ????? wrote on Oct 14, 2007 2:57 PM:

" I'm waiting for State Farm to sponsor an "employees that are not H1-B's" program. "

Big Man wrote on Oct 14, 2007 12:12 PM:

" If there were a white male teen that was pushing for white male teens to be more involved, would this get the warm fuzzy feel good coverage, or would he be considered a racist schauvinistic supremist? "

Girls Rule, Guys Suffer wrote on Oct 14, 2007 11:02 AM:

" I was just thinking the same this as "Just Wondering". ...for years and years and years my sons could not figure out why girls got the Math Day, the Slumber party sleepovers, everything the schools could think of to pull out all the stops for girls in the mentoring, psychology and extracurricular academics programs? When do the guys get the same attention? Shouldn't all these specialized programs for girls at the expense of guys be considered sexist? "

Just Wondering ???????? wrote on Oct 14, 2007 9:26 AM:

" When is State Farm going to sponsor a Millennium "Guys" program, or isn't that enough diversified????? "

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