From the Bridge
It’s back to school time, and this year, something’s special. We know what it is, even if we don’t know quite what it will look like yet: it’s that special combination of this group of students, this educator, and this particular lesson or subject that just lights everyone up.
This year, Techbridge Girls is enjoying a special anniversary season of back to school. We’re having a great time hearing from Techbridge Girls alums about how participating in TBG helped to shape the path of their life and work – and the “now and then” photos coming in are absolutely wonderful. (If you’re a TBG alum or educator, we’d love for you to visit our anniversary microsite and to share your story with us, too!).
This month, we’re sharing some resources for our educators doing the hard, fun, and critical work of making welcoming, joy-filled spaces for STEM learning.
With excitement and best wishes for a very special year – whatever that looks like for you.
-The Techbridge Team
What’s YOUR Techbridge Girls story?
We’d love to hear more! As part of our 25th anniversary celebration, Techbridge Girls is partnering with The Moth to record stories of Techbridge Girls participants.
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Share a video or picture on social media! Tag @TBG and #emergingnarratives and/or #IamTBG
Bridge Building: Upcoming Programs at your location
Registration for our fall STEM Equity Learning Community and for on-site program facilitation are now OPEN! Registration information is available here. If you are a program manager, administrator, or site director for out-of-school-time STEM learning, we welcome you to join us in exploring how our own experiences can help us to create equitable learning spaces for Black, Indigenous, and Latina girls and gender-expensive youth. Reach out now to program-managers@
The deadline is August 11, 2025 so now is the time to sign up!
Pathways: Role Models and More
Here’s one of our first anniversary stories! You’re wowing us, Sufyana and Aydina!
My name is Sufyana and I am a TechBridge alumna and have been grateful for TechBridge’s support. To TechBridge, thank you for putting forward enriching and inspiring tech content and opportunities to motivate me and young women like me! This summer I was accepted into a competitive summer computer science program for youth at the University of Maryland, will be attending a science and math magnet program this fall, and am the software lead for the Overchargers, an award-winning robotics that was a tri-state regional champion this past spring (not bad for a rookie team with high hopes!). My sister Aydina will be in her Middle School’s science and math middle school program and won a Dare to Soar competition for innovating a future transportation concept.These experiences and opportunities are outgrowths from the support and encouragement from TechBridge.
With Gratitude,
Sufyana and Aydina
P.S. Here is a picture of us yesterday at Microsoft where we were selected as “Microsoft Scholars.”
Intersections: Techbridge in Conversation
Find Techbridge Girls at the Association of Science Technology Center’s conference in early September. TBG is hosting a pre-conference workshop on Sept 5th as well as a panel about our history featuring a case study of Techbridge at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History on Sept 8th. And we have anniversary surprises at the conference to commemorate our beginnings at Chabot Science Center. If you’d like more information, email info@techbridgegirls.org.
Techbridge Girls in Hollywood
In February, Techbridge Girls’ CEO Savita Raj presented at The Hollywood Summit: Advancing Women in Tech, an event hosted by the Geena Davis Institute in partnership with Nokia Bell Labs, which brought together leaders from entertainment and technology to bridge the gender gap in STEM. No spoiler alert needed: by making more movies and media that portray women in STEM in a positive light, we really can shape a more inclusive future. You can read more about the stellar line-up and the new blog post here.
The View: Back to School Edition
What we’re reading, using, and finding inspirational here at Techbridge Girls:
- Speaking of Hollywood, we found this new research report from Reese Witherspoon’s organization, Sunnie by Hello Sunshine, to be full of interesting insights into Generation Z, and how to help girls own and shape their stories.
- For many students, families, and educators in our community, these are frightening times, with the fear of deportation and potential family separation challenging our students’ human and constitutional rights to an education. The Minnesota Education Equity Partnership has released this toolkit that informs and supports educators (not just in Minnesota!) in their critical role of protecting the human rights, dignity, and well-being of immigrant and English learner students: Creating Safe & Supportive Schools for Immigrant and English Learner (EL) Students
- Do you love a ten-point diagnostic tool that offers a framework for understanding and addressing unique student needs to improve educational experiences? Us, too. Whether you’re an educator, an advocate, or the caregiver of a student, you can use this Education Resource Equity Toolkit to start conversations, create shared understandings, and build action plans together: Resource Toolkit – Alliance For Resource Equity
- For our educators getting ready to welcome their students back into the classroom (or other learning space), this Back to School Toolkit offers activities and ideas, including open and closing routines, to help you create a learning environment where students – and educators! – can thrive. Back to School Toolkit: Building Classroom Community