NORFOLK, Va. — Some of the highest-paid and fastest-growing jobs in the United States are dominated by men, according to statistics from the American Association of University Women.
In Norfolk, there are a lot of jobs to be had in STEM, which is why one woman is trying to spark the interest of students with hands-on training.
At an early age, many people are asked what they want to be when they grow up. High school junior Ayla Xo says some her peers are still trying to figure it out.
"My friends are thinking about where they want to go to college, what they want to major in, and what their focus is in school," Ayla said.
In Norfolk, there is a program that aims to help students with training like aviation training soldering and technology troubleshooting. They have the help of a virtual reality arcade that doubles as a space to learn the basics of STEM.
Students like Ayla believe the training has been next level and has helped her add a skill or two to her resume.
The owner of VR64,Donna Facer, is responsible for creating a program for Norfolk kids and teens, with the help of stem instructors like David Clark.
"It's a bare-bones basic course so it gets you started," Clarks said. "Then it will either spark that interest and have you say oh this is cool I want to do this whether it's just troubleshooting or you're doing the repair fabrication there's a very big demand for it right now."
Facer has a background and physics. Her goal at VR64 is to get kids interested in science technology engineering and math.
"I've noticed that as soon as they reach third fourth fifth grade, they're losing their desire to learn more math so it's that hurdle," said Facer.
Personally, she said when she was in college, the male-to-female ratio of students was pretty uneven, with just three girls in a class with 30 to 45 men.
According to the American Association of University Women, there's a Stem gap in the U.S. where women make up only 28% of the workforce. This is why Facer wants to help spark the interest of female students— like Ayala— and inspire them to break down stereotypes and build up others.
