On Thursday, October 6, a group of WUHS students attended the Women Can Do! Conference at Vermont Technical College. This conference was attended by more than 250 students from across Vermont and was organized by Vermont Works for Women. The conference is designed to give girls and gender-expansive youth an opportunity to explore careers in the trades, such as welding, carpentry, and excavation, as well as careers in the sciences, engineering, and technology.

WUHS students had a great time. They talked with enthusiastic career professionals, checked out cutting-edge technology (such as a robotic dog that is used at the GlobalFoundries microchip plant in Essex Junction), and did many hands-on activities.

This field trip was facilitated and sponsored by WUHSMS’s Center of Community Connections, which seeks to engage students in thinking about their career and educational pathways.

Maya Sluka and Quinn Eckler try out some woodworking tools, while Lili Morris learns how to sharpen a chisel using a bench grinder in the bench grinder. The Generator Makerspace booth was a popular stop for WUHS students. Generator is a makerspace in Burlington.