As one of the world’s leading suppliers of drive and control technologies, Bosch Rexroth ensures efficient, powerful, and safe movement in machines and systems of any size.
And as a tireless supporter of Lehigh University’s widely acclaimed CHOICES program—the coolest engineering and science outreach program in the known universe, which just happens to be for middle-school girls—the firm is also helping to move the STEM world toward a more diverse, equitable future.
CHOICES, short for Charting Horizons and Opportunities in Careers in Engineering and Science, is “a whole week of hands-on activities, going on field trips, meeting women in engineering, and just having a lot of fun bonding with each other while learning about engineering and STEM,” explains CHOICES Program Manager Chayah Wilbers.
“In terms of the well-known gender equity gap in STEM,” she continues, “we believe the tide is beginning to turn in the right direction. For example, we’ve recently learned that 40% of next year’s incoming engineering class here at Lehigh will be women—a major improvement from just a few years ago. And while this is only one data point, we believe that outreach programs like CHOICES are a crucial part of this shift, and we are pleased to continue to partner with Bosch Rexroth to make it happen."
The Bosch Community Fund has committed another $10,000 grant to help defray the cost of the 2023 CHOICES Summer Camp. The funding includes scholarships for students in need, nominated by a teacher, to attend the camp at no cost.
“Corporate partnerships, like our long-standing relationship with Bosch Rexroth, are essential in outreach efforts like CHOICES,” says Shane Cohen, Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Lehigh. “Programs like these provide our industry colleagues with an avenue to make a direct, meaningful impact upon today’s students—particularly those from backgrounds traditionally underrepresented in STEM fields—and the composition of tomorrow’s STEM workforce.”
“Getting young people excited about engineering, especially the young women who participate in CHOICES, is crucial to our future” says Jill Evans, Manager, Customer Service, at Bosch Rexroth. “STEM and STEAM programs bring creativity, fun, and critical problem-solving to these kids who may choose engineering as a career in their future. I’m thrilled to be a small part of this program.”
A limited number of slots are still available for the first session of the 2023 CHOICES Summer Camp, June 19-23, at Lehigh; see engineering.lehigh.edu/choices/camps for more information or to register.
About CHOICES
Lehigh University’s CHOICES program allows middle-school girls to participate in a variety of fun engineering and science experiments designed to foster an interest in the future pursuit of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).
The entire CHOICES experience—a one-day program held the spring and a weeklong day camp that is offered twice in the summer—is designed to prove that science is accessible to everyone. It’s fun, challenging, interesting, and, in a word...cool.
Summer camp attendees interact with engineering faculty members and spend time with college-aged engineers from a range of majors—a key to the camp’s success. In some cases, mentors are former CHOICES participants themselves!
CHOICES is sponsored by Lehigh’s P.C. Rossin College of Engineering and Applied Science along with its chapter of the Society of Women Engineers, with generous support from partner organizations such as Bosch Rexroth. To learn more about the program, visit engineering.lehigh.edu/choices.
