High school girls had the opportunity learn about college life and engineering opportunities by shadowing ISU students last week.

The Program for Women in Science and Engineering’s WiSE Getaway was created to help high school students with an interest in science and engineering fields to take out the guesswork about college, said Megan Mohrfeld, coordinator of the event.

“The best opportunity that any high school student could have is to experience college firsthand,” said Mohrfeld, junior in mechanical engineering.

The program shows students “although they’re in underrepresented majors, there’s a large community of support,” said Lora Leigh Chrystal, program assistant with Women in Science and Engineering.

“A lot of students come from small high schools and are nervous about going to a large university,” Chrystal said.

She also said the number of women in the WiSE learning community doubled last year. The support is a valuable resource because there are so few women in these areas, Mohrfeld said.

“You may be one of three girls in a lecture hall of 100, and that’s intimidating,” she said.

Students who can experience a college environment while still in high school will have a better sense of who to go to for support, Chrystal said.

The Getaway started with a supper and a scavenger hunt Thursday night in the Scheman Building, where the high school students got acquainted with their hosts.

On Friday morning, each high school student ate breakfast with an ISU student in the residence halls and attended classes. In the afternoon, a student panel discussed campus life and involvement.

Friday night was spent designing an egg catapult and an “egg on a pedestal,” which were tested Saturday morning in the Howe Hall atrium.

Many high school girls who attended the Getaway said the experience helped them learn about college and Iowa State.

“Being able to see what the dorms were like and how the students actually lived, and going to classes and seeing how they work has helped me to see what it would be like if I come here,” said Michelle Levetzow, a student at Davenport Central High School.

Levetzow, who plans on attending Iowa State, said she felt more comfortable after attending the getaway.

Jennifer Erwin, freshman in computer engineering, attended the getaway while she was attending high school last year. She said she loved it so much that she helped on the other side this year.

Joelle Romeu, junior in aerospace engineering, also hosted several high school students on the getaway.

“When I first came to Iowa State, I got involved in a WiSE floor,” Romeu said. “I did this last year and thought it was a good idea and I like getting involved.”