Girl power highlight annual Lynwood STEM Conference

LYNWOOD, CA. Future female trailblazers from Lynwood Unified School District got an inside look into the world of STEM and explored potential professions through the District’s Career Technical Education (CTE) programs during the annual Girl STEM Conference, held June 1 at Bateman Hall.

THE conference brought together elementary and middle school students from across the District to celebrate female empowerment and hear from women in STEM careers, including biological sciences and nursing.

Lynwood Unified alumna Abi Lopez, a keynote speaker, shared her journey since last attending the Girl STEM Conference in 2015. After working as a legal assistant, software engineer and artificial intelligence instructor, Lopez is now fighting for social justice, supporting local communities in need, and developing human-centered technology.

“Embrace your passions, follow your curiosity, and let your brain shine,” Lopez advised students. “Believe in yourself and know that you are capable of greatness.”

La’Tonya Pettway, director of critical care at St. Francis Medical Center, also brought a powerful energy to the conference, inspiring students to shake off their insecurities, get outside of their comfort zones and feel confident in their skin. “There are so many opportunities, and the sky is the limit,” Pettway said. “Know that you belong in any room you choose to go into.”

Students also engaged in hands-on activities that ignited their interests in biology, robotics, physics and more.

They took a glance at life through a microscope, learning about the basics of cellular biology and the crucial role it plays in life sciences; took an exciting attempt at engineering and physics during LEGO-building and other creative activities; received an introduction to computer science; and were introduced to marine biology and shark basics while examining skeletal artifacts from the ocean.

The district’s CTE programs, ranging from medicine to culinary arts, have continued to provide Lynwood Unified students with professional skills and experience needed to excel in today’s work force.

“From delving into the depths of the Earth to reaching for the stars, we want our female students to know their options are limitless in this field and they are capable of anything,” Superintendent Gudiel Crosthwaite, Ph.D. said. “The world is ever-changing, and we strive to inspire our students to be a part of that change. Through STEM, there are no limits to what can be discovered.”

Other speakers included Lynwood Unified alumna Lesly Torres Gonzalez, Dr. Margarita Lopez and research technician Emily Spurgeon. Event partners included St. Francis Medical Center, Cal State Long Beach, Reaction Research, Charles R. Drew University, National College Resources Foundation, Lynwood Alumni Association and the Lynwood Partners Educational Foundation.

Mayor

continued from page 1 list of issues that’s currently confronting the city.

Let’s start with public safety. The street takeovers in Compton as well as in other local jurisdictions have become priority No. 1 for many cities to tackle, not just in the Hub City.

“It’s important to know that we are having problems from Northern California, Central California, even down to Southern California,” Sharif said. “All of us are dealing with this issue. All of us right now are looking at different ways at how can we actually address this issue.” from the smell of burnt tires and black tread marks left as a lasting neighborhood souvenir. Lives have been lost. So, what is Sharif and the other Compton officials prepared to do about this alarming problem?

“I want the community to know one thing, we are going to continue addressing this issue until we can eradicate it out of the city,” quipped Sharif. “And the other thing that we are doing is towing cars. We’re definitely towing cars. We’re taking the cars. We have increased the fines. We’re giving tickets out to spectators.” engineering strategies for us…we’re looking at different strategies in order for us to actually to be able to implement of what we can actually deter more of from taking place in the city.” for now) and gave up her reign as mayor of Compton, Sharif threw her hat in the ring to run for the city’s top spot. She won. But running for mayor was not a plan that Sharif had sought out to do. She mentioned that she received a phone call about the possibly of running. She promptly hung the phone up.

What they’re doing is that they are working on different engineering strategies for us…we’re looking at different strategies in order for us to actually to be able to implement of what we can actually deter more of from taking place in the city.

During the 44-minute interview with Sharif, the mayor exuded a warm, motherly tone during the conversation. However, through the frank discussion about city matters, Sharif left no doubt exhibiting the quiet strength that has helped her navigate the channels of politics.

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Mech released: 3/31/23 Production Artist: Tina

Street takeovers has become such a public nuisance in Compton that city officials, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and local civil rights organization such as the National Association for Equal Justice in America have railed against this criminal element.

Residents are outraged

Joining forces with law enforcement, particularly the Sheriff’s Department, has been a big step for the city to take in trying tamper down the street takeovers, Sharif said.

“What we’re doing now is what we’ve been doing… is working closely with the

Sheriff’s Department,” Sharif said. “And what they’ve done is that they’ve gotten additional resources into the city. It’s not gone away. I’m telling you they went away. That’s not what I’m saying at all. But I am saying what they’ve been able to do, they’ve been able to curtail a lot of it. It’s not as many out here now as it was. It’s still here, but it’s not as many. “What they’re doing is that they are working on different

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She took over as mayor in 2021. Before her current elected position, Sharif served as councilwoman of the city’s 4th District. And prior to that elected stint, she worked as a trustee for the Compton Unified School District.

So, she knows her way around the city well. When Aja Brown decided to terminate political career (at least