Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky Focused on Getting Girls into STEM

In October, the chapter's Women in AFCEA (WIA) welcomed Kentucky's Lt. Gov. Jenean Hampton, USAF, to speak to the audience about her passion to encourage and challenge the state to get more girls involved in STEM careers. Kathryn Thompson, chapter vice president for WIA, set the stage by describing the purpose of WIA. It is to promote the growth of AFCEA membership by creating and sustaining a space for women in technology for dialogue and communication, and using these conversations to reignite and inspire women in IT. WIA's goals are to increase AFCEA female membership and to increase participation of women in all areas of AFCEA, including speakers at events, committee membership and award winner recipients at conferences. Lt. Gov. Hampton told the audience of her upbringing in Detroit and several manufacturing jobs that she held as well as her time in the Air Force. She went on to say that 71 percent of all jobs in 2018 require STEM skills, yet only 24 percent of females in the U.S. are currently represented in these fields, indicating that educators must capture girls' attention while they are young. Lt. Gov. Hampton has visited more than 120 school across the state of Kentucky with the intent to inspire young girls with her story on how being encouraged to seek opportunities within STEM related fields. Her ultimate goal is to have a programming course be though at all Kentucky schools.

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