Expanding Your Horizons (EYH) is a hands-on STEM conference for middle school girls and their parents. The day-long conference features a day of interactive STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) workshops for female middle school students led by UK undergraduate and graduate students and includes college preparation sessions for accompanying parents/guardians. The primary goal of this conference is to encourage middle school girls to consider STEM studies by providing them with memorable interactive workshop experiences, visible (female) role models in STEM fields, and exposure to different career paths in STEM. UK undergraduate and graduate students designing and leading these workshops will develop their outreach skills and build confidence in their own scientific and leadership abilities. Finally, parents/guardians who attend this conference with their daughters will gain insight into the college preparation process and learn skills to become better advocates for their children as they continue their studies in STEM fields. In 2017, 120 girls attended, and in 2018 to number of girls attending grew to 160. Funding is being sought for 2019 with the goal of 200 girls participating.

Participants at EYH 2018.