Women’s Energy Network of Houston (WEN) — Young Women Energized (YWE) STEM Conference.
By: Momentum Education
Tags: STEM, Nonprofit, Conference, Stem Education, Careers

The 2020 Young Women Energized (YWE) STEM Conference went virtual for the 1st time this year. COVID-19 required us to make the necessary adjustments to our program to ensure the safety of all participants.

The YWE STEM Conference mission is to further WEN’s mission of empowering young women in grades 9 through 12 to seek, succeed and break barriers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). During the conference the young women competed for ten (10) $10,000.00 scholarships, received life changing valuable information in mentorship and internship programs and heard from prominent women leaders in different STEM careers.

As the Scholarship Chair, and reviewing hundreds of essays with the Scholarship Committee, we realized it was critical that we get back to the basics and provided these young women with “Mastering the Art of Writing for Success”. Therefore, we reached out to Mr. Raj Salhotra, Cofounder of Momentum Education, and shared with him our challenges with the essays being submitted and our need to offer writing skills during the conference. Mr. Raj, quickly shared all the different services and programs that Momentum Education had to offer that would help our young ladies.

Next, Mr. Raj, introduced us to his dynamic dual Ms. Juanita Parra (Momentum Education Cofounder) & Ms. Christi Nguyen. From that introduction both Ms. Juanita & Ms. Christi developed the four (4) thirty minute breakout sessions to take the young ladies through techniques for improving and mastering their writing skills. They stressed that great writing skills helps to demonstrate your voice and your knowledge. Clear and well delivered writing also improves critical thinking skills, teaches you how to deliver ideas, improves communications skills and will be used in post-secondary education and beyond. The quote we received from a student attending the conference “I wish I had known about the Momentum essay review process before the YWE Scholarship deadline, it could have made a huge difference on my essay score. I will be using their services for every essay I submit going forward.” We sincerely hope that Momentum Education will continue to partner with YWE in future YWE STEM Conferences.

WEN understands that the investments that they are making in young women today is an investment in all our futures. WEN’s message to young women is there are vast rewards in a STEM related degree, where great careers await them. Young women must be prepared for opportunities, stay focused, believe in their abilities and place NO limit on themselves. WEN-YWE stands by their younger sisters in helping them prepare for these STEM careers #SisterSTEM Standing for the Next Generation of Women Leaders.

In addition, the $100,000 YWE Scholarship will make a life-changing impact for a young woman. Many of our scholarship recipients are from the inner city and will be 1st generation in their families to attend college. These scholarships provide an opportunity for these ladies to earn a college education in STEM. Without assistance from an outside source, many students will have trouble paying for the degree they need in order to enter the workforce and become a contributing member of society. A very special thanks to all our corporate and individual sponsors for their financial donations and commitment to our young ladies. Their continued generosity to our scholarship program is not only the right thing to do, their sponsorship helps develop the next generation of Women STEM Leaders!

WEN is leaving a Legacy of great principles, and achievements for our young women that will not only impact their immediate communities, also their success will be etched in the minds of the past and the future of this world, for years to come! “When you teach a girl you teach an entire generation.” African Proverbs.

— Debbie White, PMP (Scholarship Chair 2020–2021)