Ranken Technical College Announces Women in Technology Scholarship Winners

Online, August 27, 2013 (Newswire.com) - Ranken Technical College is helping two female students with their goal to acquire a first-class technical education and solid future. Hallie Overschmidt and Amanda Smith were recently announced as the winners of the Women in Technology contest held throughout the summer, which aimed to make prospective female students aware of the abundant career options the College can provide to women looking for employment and advancement in a variety of technical fields.

"One of the College's goals has been to make women in our region aware of the great opportunities in the technical career fields," said John Wood, Ranken's vice president for student success. "We are very happy to support our first two Women in Technology scholarship recipients."

In partnership with Clear Channel, the contest brought women to the website of Z107.7, a popular radio station in Missouri. Here contestants were asked to fill out an entry form in hopes of winning a $5,000 or $1,000 scholarship to be used at Ranken's St. Louis or Wentzville location. After all the entries were gathered, contestants sat down with Wood to discuss their interests in the technical fields, as the final round.

Overschmidt, who won the $5,000 scholarship, plans to attend Ranken's Precision Machining Technology program in the fall: "Precision Machining was never something I would have thought of on my own, but my dad mentioned that my cousin had made a career out of it. Of course, my first reaction was 'that's for boys', but while researching the career, I realized it was a good fit for me," said Overschmidt. "I chose Ranken because on the first visit, I felt right at home. During a tour of the campus, everyone who walked by said hello."

Smith, who earned the $1,000 scholarship, plans to attend the Control Systems Technology program: "I chose the Control Systems Technology program because I have always been very hands on and understand the need for skilled trades," said Smith. "Ranken is the ideal school for me because of the focused curriculum and outstanding reputation. I am so pleased to have been awarded this scholarship and look forward to the Ranken experience."

According to the National Coalition of Women and Girls in Education, women tend to be overwhelmingly clustered in low-wage, low-skill fields, including the cosmetology, child care and health aid industries. Women claim just 25 percent of high-wage, high-skill, "non-traditional fields," such as the construction and repair industry, the automotive industry, logistics and engineering. Gender segregation in Career and Technical Education (CTE) and Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) programs negatively affects a woman's earnings throughout her lifetime and contributes to the wage gap between men and women. According to the Institute for Women's Policy Research, the typical woman now makes just 77 cents for every dollar earned by male workers.

Ranken aims to change all of that for women in the area by showing women how a technical education can benefit them and supporting them once they decide to receive a technical education at the College. One way Ranken supports female students is through the Women in Technology (WIT) organization. WIT has monthly meetings throughout the school year, providing female students, staff, and faculty with a forum to discuss issues, socialize and get acquainted with other women on campus.

"Our public efforts began with this scholarship contest, but Ranken has already put into place a support system to make women feel more at home at Ranken," said Wood. "Our efforts are already paying off. We are seeing an increase in the number of inquiries and visits by women, which has converted into more enrollments."