Getting the system to work together is one of the pieces that FIRST has really been able to do through the support. As Bonnie said, if you're not worrying about the funding it gives you the opportunity to reflect and plan to be able to engage with community partners across the country. That really enables you to systemically and thoughtfully go into different areas in the country, like Calgary, for instance, where there was a competition started about five years ago. That was a grassroots competition. It was actually a girl from our school who saw that as something she really wanted to do. She is a biomedical engineer and develops prosthetic devices for people who have spinal injuries. She understands the caring part of being an engineer. It was through FIRST that she really developed that.
To have the opportunity to look at how you can work with universities to help spread the word.... This is the STEM question again. What is this thing called STEM? We're behind. They're talking about STEAM a lot more now. In speaking with students, they will tell you that engineering and science and technology are more about curiosity and creativity than about numbers. They've got it; they understand that. For us to be able to have an opportunity to spread that and draw in as many community partners as we possibly can, that is really how we can engage girls and women in this particular kind of work that we're really trying to do. Also, to help them understand that, as Saira talked about, they get so far.... Karen and I joke about the noxious gas—that there's that glass ceiling. We believe and are told that we can get through it, but somehow there's this layer of gas up there and you just can't get through it to get through the ceiling. That's what we have to help the current and next generation of girls to be able to do.