'Girls in STEM' Links Current Trailblazers and Future of AI and Analytics
Women of LeBow are tackling the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) world – a domain where women have been underrepresented – and are shining a light for girls to follow in their footsteps.
LeBow’s Center for Applied AI and Business Analytics hosted Philadelphia middle school students for Girls in STEM, a weeklong program showcasing the power of data and artificial intelligence (AI).
This year’s program, offered in partnership with Girls Inc., created hands-on opportunities for participants to explore the intersection of business and technology, build confidence and envision themselves in the future of work.
Undergraduate instructors – Aleksandra Iwanczak; business analytics & finance ’28; Faith Eldow, business analytics ’28; Katharine Le, business analytics & marketing ’28; and Laura Ibrahim, business analytics & management information systems ‘28 – guided the program’s participants in lessons on how AI and analytics fuel problem-solving and decision-making.
The instructors have been instrumental to the development of the participants. They’ve also been able to take away insights that will help them down the road in their careers.
“Breaking data analytics down for these girls into a more palatable way has helped me see the deeper nuances to some of these topics,” Ibrahim said. “It gives you a new perspective on how these topics should be explained and how others can connect to these ideas.”
The program features a project that culminates in the participants presenting findings to professionals in the field at Anthropologie, a retailer with headquarters based in Philadelphia.
Anthropologie’s staff, which includes several Drexel alumni, spoke with the participants, providing valuable insights on careers in AI and analytics.
Continuing the Center’s mission of educating girls and encouraging them to pursue STEM programs and careers, this 2025 edition of Girls in STEM marks LeBow’s seventh iteration of providing STEM programming to youth in Philadelphia though analytics workshops, summer camps and other offerings.
