The ISU Program for Women in Science and Engineering will be offering young women and their mothers an opportunity to delve into engineering opportunities together.

Applications are being taken for Engineering 101 for Mothers and Daughters, a pilot program co-sponsored by PWSE and the outreach and recruitment departments in the College of Engineering. The program is a one-day seminar that will include workshops in career exploration, said Barbara Lograsso, assistant director for PWSE.

The program, available to eighth through 10th graders across the state, will be from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Feb. 10 in Howe Hall. It is designed to accommodate 100 mother-daughter pairs, Lograsso said.

This type of seminar is important because parents have the biggest influence on their children’s career choices, Lograsso said.

“Parents encourage students to pursue careers, and we’re trying to show what wonderful opportunities there are for young people in engineering,” she said.

Monica Bruning, program coordinator for engineering undergraduate programs, said women are typically underrepresented in the engineering field.

“One of the primary reasons we’re doing this is that we know that mothers are a primary source of information and influence to young women as they consider career opportunities, but that women represent less than 10 percent in the engineering field,” she said.

Bruning said the seminar will include interactive, hands-on activities and speakers.

Some of the seminar’s speakers will be ISU alumni now working at Proctor and Gamble and Rockwell-Collins and current engineering students from the Women in Science and Engineering and Society of Women in Engineering organizations, she said.

Young women have limited sources of information on engineering careers, Bruning said, and therefore attendees will benefit by getting acquainted with other female engineering students and engineering professionals.

She said the students and professionals will provide the attendees with “resources on a network from which they can utilize as they move through the career exploration phases.”