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Eighth-grade girls who attended the Tech Trek camp at UC Davis this summer are: (front row L-R) Grace Rasmussen and Brittney Sierra; (back row) Loren Brownell, Makenna Arrington, Riley Danna, Ashley Whatley, Avery Robison, Jasreet Kooner, and Amy Ramos. Courtesy photograph

Eighth-grade girls who attended the Tech Trek camp at UC Davis this summer are: (front row L-R) Grace Rasmussen and Brittney Sierra; (back row) Loren Brownell, Makenna Arrington, Riley Danna, Ashley Whatley, Avery Robison, Jasreet Kooner, and Amy Ramos. Courtesy photograph
Several Mid-Valley eighth-graders shared their experience at a collegiate science camp with local members of the American Association for University Women who helped fund the trip, on September 19.
The 10 students, all young women enrolled at junior high schools across the Yuba-Sutter region, attended Tech Trek, an annual summertime camp focusing on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) hosted by UC Davis in July.
“On September 19, they got to thank the 60-to-80 year old women able to send them to the camp,” retired math and science teacher and AAUW Member Julie Goldwyn told the Appeal-Democrat with a laugh, referring to the organizations “40 or 50’ local members. “That was the purpose of the event: the girls just thanked us and shared what they experienced.”
The students won’t become members of the AAUW until they’re adults, but they are members of Tech Trek Alumni Group, an academic advisory group that helps them stay in touch with other students they met at the camp, Goldwyn explained.
“It’s a bonding and support group for different age groups,” the retired teacher noted.
Students who attend the camp are recommended to the AAUW by local seventh-grade teachers.
“There is a selection process,” Goldwyn said. “Those nominated are interviewed, asked to write an essay, and in last year’s case, 10 were selected from a larger group. We choose the girls who are nominated by their teachers and the branch contacts the schools in Yuba-Sutter.”
Each year, Tech Trek hosts approximately 90 girls who are about to enter eighth grade, according to UC Davis. The students spend a week living in a dormitory with a roommate they haven’t met and spend the week collaborating on science projects in a series of workshops.
“The Tech Trek workshops are college-level, taught by professionals, and these seventh graders came away more confident, and are ready to take on the rest of junior high, high school, and college in these challenging fields of study,” AAUW Member Artis Buerki wrote in a press statement about the camp.
According to UC Davis, the most popular Tech Trek event is the Professional Women’s Evening, where women in STEM careers share their experiences with the campers, and the girls have a chance to ask questions and learn about a range of careers.
The cost to attend the camp in-person is $900 and $500 virtually, but Goldwyn and other local members of the AAUW raised money to cover camp expenses for six of the girls with their annual Garden Tour Fundraiser in May.
“It’s in a different location each year,” Goldwyn said. “We start selling tickets on the first Saturday in March. It’s always somewhere in Yuba or Sutter county.”
Goldwyn added, “The Rotary Club of Marysville paid for four girls who attended the camp virtually. We can’t thank them enough.”
Goldwyn said the young women are part of the AAUW’s legacy.
“It makes me very proud, “Goldwyn said. “Especially as I was a middle school teacher for 21 years. ‘We’re exposing these girls to STEM careers which tend to be male-dominated. The important thing to remember is that we’re exposing these girls to careers they never may have thought of and they enter high school with these goals in mind.”
Sunny skies. High 96F. Winds NNW at 10 to 20 mph..
A mostly clear sky. Low 57F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph.
Updated: September 29, 2026 @ 12:48 am
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