Taking the heat
Middle school girls attend non-traditional careers camp
Firefighting may not have been their first choice for a career, but some middle school girls who tried out the tasks at a recent camp are considering it. First, though, they have to get their panic under control if they really were at a fire, said Vail Middle School seventh-grader Bella Chiu.
Former Vail Middle School sixth-grader Bella Chiu prepares for a firefighting drill.
She was one of 15 girls who attended a weeklong Tucson Unified School District Career and Technical Education pilot program intended to show girls non-traditional careers. The students in the Girls TEC Camp (Tackling Emerging Careers) were mostly from Pueblo Gardens Elementary School, Hohokam, Valencia and Vail middle schools.
At the Tucson Fire Department's training facility on Wilmot Road south of Interstate 10 on July 30, the girls got nearly the same drill firefighters go through, such as climbing a six-story fire tower, mowing down a cone with water from a hose, dragging a dead-weight dummy and pulling a hose around an obstacle.
"This is a good experience for them," said Cadet Lt. Josie Albertine, a Pima Community College student. "It shows other females doing equal tasks, and they can do what men do and not be afraid of getting dirty."
Some of the participants in the CTE Girls TEC Camp included, from left, Giovanna Lossous, a Vail seventh-grader; Bella Chiu, a former Vail sixth-grader, and Camron Pesqueira, a Vail eighth-grader.
It was hard work for the girls, who were smaller than the fire fighters they imitated. At times, it was scary. Camron Pesqueira, a Vail eighth-grader, said she hung onto the railing at the top of the fire tower because she was afraid of heights. "You have to get over that," she said. She's considering being a firefighter or a violinist.
Another Vail student, seventh-grader Giovanna Lossou, said the firefighters' coats were heavy and hot. Despite that, she's thinking about being a firefighter and saving people. "I like the stuff you have to do," she said.
Debbie Leonetti, a TUSD work-based learning resource teacher, said the week's events were only several encouraging pushes girls get to pursue non-traditional work. Classroom studies, too, bring them closer to these fields, showing them the relevance of coursework such as math and science. "We have to overcome the stereotypes of girls not being good in math or science or the idea that 'That's a man's job.' We're making headway. It's good to start the earlier the better," she said.
Girls Tackling Emerging Careers Camp
July 28: Law and Order - Teen court, Mock Trial, Federal Bureau of Investigation
July 29: Close Encounters of the 3-D Kind - Blender interface overview at LIRC Computer Lab, Space-Scape, Mapping and planet maps, Pima Air and Space Museum
July 30: Backdraft - Tucson Fire Department - Training Academy firefighter training activities, First Aid interactive demonstration
July 31: Build it and They Will Come - Structural engineering project, lunch with UA engineering students
Aug. 1: Final Experience - Coach D gets you HYPED (Helping Youth Pursue Excellence)
CTE classes stress rigor, relevance and relationships, just as other TUSD courses do, Leonetti said. "When you show them the relevance of doing algebra and communicate it effectively, they'll see it," she explained.
Girls are finding out that male dominated professions tend to pay more, Leonetti said, offering another incentive for girls to investigate these fields.
Already the CTE department is talking about expanding the weeklong camp in coming years to include other school districts and having businesses sponsor a day of the camp. Also under consideration is offering a second camp, where non-traditional jobs for boys could be showcased.