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Each year the non-profit organization Black Girls Do Engineer (BGDE) Corporation awards a $10,000 scholarship to a junior or senior member in the program to continue pursuing education in the S.T.E.M. field.

This year the scholarship was awarded to Prairie View A&M University engineering student Kayla Hooks.

Since launching in 2019 Black Girls Do Engineer has provided $44,000 in college scholarships to girls and young women from ages 6 to 21 in all areas of S.T.E.M. The board raises money for the scholarship fund in which a scholarship is given to a selected member of the program through an application process each year.

The non-profit organization positively impacts its members, with 75 percent coming from underrepresented communities.

Aside from giving out an annual scholarship, the organization also helps through mentoring, personal growth regimens, S.T.E.M. projects and activities, S.T.E.M.  challenges, and guidance on career paths based on insight from professionals that are leaders in the S.T.E.M. industry.

On Friday, June 23, the organization will host its inaugural Black Girls Do Engineer Day Award Gala to celebrate and uplift the extraordinary women and girls in the S.T.E.M. industry at the Wiess Energy Hall at the Houston Museum of Natural Science.

Event tickets and sponsorship packages can be purchased at https://bgde.regfox.com/black-girls-do-engineer-2023-gala. All proceeds of the event will go back into the organization.

“The program is changing people’s lives,” said Kara Branch, Founder, and Chief Executive Officer of Black Girls Do Engineer. “Some of the members are already in the workforce and in college making their dreams come true. Giving them a pathway and resources to achieve their STEM goals are the reasons why I do this work.”

Branch’s primary mission for her non-profit organization is to provide access, awareness, and advocacy for two million Black-American girls to pursue S.T.E.M. careers by the year 2050. There are several ways to get involved as a sponsor, mentor, volunteer, or donate, by visiting  www.blackgirlsdoengineer.org.