Battling the myth that women don't belong in technology-based careers, Casper College will host its annual GETT event Saturday in the Administration Building on campus.

Casper College information technology director Karla Volpi first heard about GETT - Girls Exploring Tomorrow's Technology - when she lived in Chester County, Pennsylvania. After taking a position at CC, she decided Casper could use the same technological inspiration.

"(These girls) are discovering what it means to be a woman - what's acceptable and what's not," Volpi explained. "And people in technology have been painted as unsexy, uncool, unfun, uneverything. We're trying to say 'Wait! Technology is cool, it is fun, it is sexy.'"

Now in its second year, GETT will feature six unique technology sessions, including work with global positioning systems (GPS), an astronomy session, and a session on computer animation. Girls will also have a chance to "get in the guts of the computer and see what makes it work," Volpi said.

Volpi hopes programs like GETT will show girls the necessity of learning about technology for use in everyday life.

"It's not just technology jobs," Volpi said. "In just about any job or job category, they're going to have to work with technology. The more people know about it, the more it's going to be able to help them in their jobs."

Casper native Ryan Prouty, now a managing engineer for NASA in Houston, will teleconference with girls at this year's event.

"One of my motivations for talking to the girls is that, when you look at magazine covers, they don't have any good role models really," Prouty said. "So I want to show them that there are other things out there that are exciting and motivating and you can get involved with things other than what's on those covers."

Prouty, who majored in math at the University of Wyoming, said she never thought she wanted to be an engineer. It sounded boring.

"But there are aspects of technical fields that aren't boring," she said. "I want to bring a human element to it, to show them, even in my small corner of the technical field, what could be out there for them."

BREAKOUT:

GETT is designed for girls in grades 7 - 12. This is a FREE event.

The event will run from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Lunch and two snacks will be provided.

Pre-registration is preferred, so log on to www.caspercollege.edu/forms/gett.html to register in advance.