Held annually, the Amelia Earhart Girls in Engineering Day supports girls grades 4-8 to continue STEM curriculum throughout middle school and high school, then pursue college degrees in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math). This FREE program is underwritten by the Zonta Club of Hilo.
This annual event was launched in 2012. Instrumental in the program’s success are organizers Dale Olive and Eric Hagiwara, dedicated science educators at Waiakea High School. Each year the day features a different science theme and attendees participate in hands-on science activities.
At Amelia Earhart Girls in Engineering Day, women professionals in STEM fields speak to and encourage middle school students, especially girls, to continue their STEM pathway.
“Amelia Earhart Day was a great opportunity for me to engage young women with an interest in science, and for them to learn more about what a chemist actually does.” ~ Natalie Crist, UH-Hilo Chemistry Instructor
Zonta Club of Hilo – Women in STEM Scholarship
The Women in STEM Scholarships are awarded to women pursuing a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM) degree program who demonstrate outstanding potential in the field.
Open to women of any age, students must be enrolled at an accredited university/college/institute in at least the second year of an undergraduate program through the final year of a master’s program at the time the application is submitted. Applicants must be in school at the time the scholarship funds are disbursed and must not graduate before April of the following year.
The recipient of Zonta Club of Hilo’s Women in STEM Scholarship is automatically entered for additional scholarships at the Zonta District and International levels.
Zonta International – Amelia Earhart Fellowship ($10,000)
The Amelia Earhart Fellowships are awarded annually to up to 35 women pursuing Ph.D./doctoral degrees in aerospace engineering and space sciences. It may be used at any university or college offering accredited post-graduate courses and degrees in these fields. Women of any nationality pursuing a Ph.D./doctoral degree who demonstrate a superior academic record conducting research applied to aerospace engineering or space sciences are eligible.
Amelia Earhart
Legendary pilot Amelia Earhart is one of Zonta International’s most famous former members. Each year during the month of January, Zonta celebrates her spirit and impact.
On July 2, 1928, as Amelia Earhart – world-famed aviator and the first woman to fly across the Atlantic Ocean as a passenger – approached the shores of the United States on her triumphant return home, she was handed this radiogram:
Boston Zonta Club is proud to welcome you as a member. Signed Alice Bradley, President
A few weeks later, she was inducted into Zonta International and served as an active member first in the Boston club and later in the New York club. Her sister, Grace Muriel Morrissey, was a charter member of the Zonta Club of Medford, Massachusetts.
On January 6, 1935, Amelia Earhart planted a tree on Hilo’s renowned Banyan Drive. Zonta Club of Hilo regularly pays tribute to the aviator by placing flowers at her banyan tree.
On January 11, 1935, Earhart embarked on a 2,408-mile trip from Honolulu, Hawai’i to Oakland, California. The next day, she became the first person to fly solo to the United States mainland from Hawai’i. Since she had flown over the Atlantic Ocean five years earlier, this flight also made her the first person to fly across both the Pacific and Atlantic oceans.
On July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart disappeared over the Pacific while attempting to be the first pilot to circle the world at the equator. Today, we remember her contributions to the aerospace industry and her empowerment of women in science.