MSU Bagley College of Engineering makes contribution towards local SMART Girls Summit

Through a generous annual gift from Chevron’s CREATE Foundation,  MSU Bagley College of Engineering and others supported the area’s Boys and Girls Club's 2^nd Annual SMART Girls Summit.

SMART Girls is a transformative program that caters to the developmental needs of girls in three age groups, from 8 to 18. It empowers them through dynamic sessions, participatory activities, field trips, and mentoring opportunities with adult women. The program equips the girls with skills for healthy living, positive relationships, and self-esteem enhancement. The summit, which occurred on March 9, had several speakers, including Starkville mayor Lynn Spruill and Five Horizons executive director Paulette Ferguson.

The sponsorship was made possible through Chevron’s CREATE Foundation, the annual gift provides programming aimed at recruiting and retaining diverse students pursuing a degree in engineering at Mississippi State University. The foundation also provides funding to promote diversity within STEM for grades K-12 through exciting summer STEM camps and events such as the summit.

CREATE encompasses five main areas of emphasis: K-12 outreach, scholarships, transfer students, mentoring and professional development, and recruiting. The program provides funding for summer engineering camps for elementary, middle and high school students, as well as university.

CREATE also supports the Chevron Engineering Transfer Program, which helps minority engineering students who transfer into MSU Bagley College of Engineering while also funding mentoring programs and engineering student organizations. The program strengthens Mississippi State’s engineering student recruitment efforts.