Bright Side Opportunities Center, a nonprofit community center in southwest Lancaster City, ran the Sismantle Tech program over the summer, with help from the United Way of Lancaster County’s Level up and Launch Grant. The center was awarded the grant for the 2024-2025 grant cycle. The program aims to get high school age girls into successful careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM).
Sismantle Tech, is a continuation of a previous program, “Girls Who Code,” and focuses on providing training in all aspects of STEM careers and the professional aspects. The new program differs from the original by offering partnerships with other institutions and businesses in the Lancaster area. These partnerships allow the girls to hear from female professionals in the field.
According to Isiah Perry, Program Director, women, especially women of color, are underrepresented in the STEM field.
“When we look at the School District of Lancaster, 90% of are students of color. When we look at the tech field, less than 6% of those computing roles are taken up by women of color.”
If a student coming from a school where most students are non-white enters into a predominantly white workforce, it becomes a “culture shock,” said Perry. The ability to relate to coworkers may be impacted.
Sismantle Tech partners with the Backpacks to Briefcases program, run by the Elizabethtown College School of Business. It teaches female students “soft skills,” or communication skills including business etiquette, professional communication, and how to negotiate a salary. Salary negotiation, Perry sees as especially important, due to the ongoing wage gap for women in the workplace.
The girls performed at a high level. At first Perry was providing instruction, but he found that the students were achieving the goals of the curriculum much faster than expected. Soon, the girls were performing at a level Perry himself could not keep up with. At that point he got the idea to bring in talent who would properly continue the girls’ education.
He collaborated with Black Girls Hack, a Washington D.C. based organization which provides a curriculum called We Got Next Cyber. The program teaches underserved 9th through 12th graders ethical hacking and cybersecurity skills and allows these students to obtain an entry-level cybersecurity certification, which directly contributes to their employability.
Local business leaders came and talked to the girls about their jobs. Perry called this section the “Career Connectors” program. Holly B. McGloshen, the vice president of financial crimes at Ephrata National Bank, educated the students on banking cybersecurity, and told her story about overcoming barriers as a woman to reach her position.
Through the Level Up and Launch funding, each student received a $1,500 stipend. This acts as a large incentive for the girls to continue their training. Because of the rigorous nature of the curriculum, including collegiate-level work, the stipend contributed to a high retention level.
The stipend, according to Perry, also allowed the girls to be incentivized to learn rather than getting typical high school jobs such as fast food. Perry said that being “exposed to careers” rather than a summer job makes a difference in determining the students’ futures.
Perry said, the Level Up and Launch grant’s focus on innovation helped the stipend and program come together.
