If it’s June and Intel New Mexico’s Amy Wainwright is out of office, it’s likely she’s volunteering her time and expertise to inspiring our next generation of innovators.
For seven years, Amy has led a hands-on learning workshop at Tech Trek, a New Mexico nonprofit STEM camp for eighth-grade girls. There, she spends time teaching, role modeling, and even mentoring to help encourage more girls to pursue STEM education and careers.
Amy began working with Tech Trek in 2017 after she was approached while volunteering at a local STEM conference, where a fellow volunteer asked if she would be interested in hosting a workshop with Tech Trek. Now, she conducts a workshop on landfill design and testing at Tech Trek’s camp every year, which not only educates but also motivates participants to see themselves as future engineers.
“The age [students] come to the camp is a critical part of their lives where they will make more autonomous choices of the classes they want to take in high school,” Amy shared. “I want my workshop to impact that decision for them.”
A workshop with a lasting influence
The effectiveness of her workshop is evident in the high approval ratings it receives and the subsequent increase in STEM class enrollment among the camp’s attendees. Her contribution has been acknowledged by Tech Trek staff for its lasting impact, also encouraging many girls to pursue STEM classes at the high school level.
A fearless innovator, Amy strives for continuous improvement for her program, spending hours every year updating program materials, verifying data, rethinking her grading rubric, and more. Now with an additional peer from Intel, Amy has continued to further enrich the workshop, fostering an environment that nurtures critical thinking and creativity.
Going beyond the workshop
While Amy now has an environmental engineering degree, she didn’t pursue engineering until grad school. “When I learned about environmental engineering when pursuing a bachelor’s degree in environmental science, I was scared to switch my major to an engineering field,” she said.
“I believe if I had been exposed to something like Tech Trek when I was growing up, I would have chosen to get my bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from the start. I want the workshop attendees to know what is out there, and if I did the workshop right, see me as a role model for who they could be one day.”
In addition to the workshop, Amy has also taken time to mentor some of the college-aged counselors from the camp, sharing her experiences navigating school, career, and providing support for other female engineers at another pivotal time in their education.
Inspiring our next generation of innovators, now and into the future
In addition to her hours of volunteer time every year – and their potential volunteer matching grant from the Intel Foundation to support this cause – Amy is also one of 10 Intel employees around the world recognized by our Gordon Moore Hero Award program.
Her regional recognition includes an additional grant from the Intel Foundation that will bolster Tech Trek’s mission and continue to positively shape young girls’ perceptions of STEM careers. Plus, she plans to continue her workshop and is even pursuing more opportunities to expand its reach and her involvement with STEM education.
“My volunteering passion is supporting STEM, and I want to continue fostering in kids the belief that STEM is fun, and they can do anything they put their mind to."
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Some photos provided courtesy of Tech Trek. Learn more about Intel in New Mexico at intel.com/NewMexico.