AAUW to Showcase Apps, STEM Scholarships

Looking for a way to socialize, network, and collaborate with other local professional and academic women? There's probably an app for that.

AAUW Honolulu, the local chapter of a national women's advocacy group that has been around for more than 130 years, is hosting its first "Appy Hour" pau hana gathering on Tuesday. The casual mixer is open to association members, prospective members, their colleagues, and friends, and attendees are encouraged to share their favorite mobile apps.

Organizers will also showcase apps that further AAUW's ideals of wage, education and benefit parity.

“No matter what sort of work you do, no matter what industry you’re in, keeping up with technology isn’t just a hobby or a luxury, it’s a necessity,” said AAUW Honolulu president Joanna Amberger in a press release. “Appy Hour’s attendees will find out what’s new when it comes to software for their phones in a relaxing atmosphere where they can network with AAUW Honolulu members and other professionals who support equal gender pay and equal benefits.”

This first "Appy Hour" is part of the AAUW Honolulu chapter's renewed efforts to increase outreach and community engagement. AAUW Honolulu hosted a panel discussion on women in STEM earlier this month, and we recently featured the organization's scholarship program on Bytemarks Cafe.

The AAUW Honolulu scholarship provides funds for undergraduate and graduate study as well as doctoral research, with a preference for students majoring in STEM fields. We interviewed Rachel Hoerman, a PhD candidate and lecturer in anthropology at the University of Hawaii at Manoa, who received both a Honolulu chapter and national AAUW scholarship.

The AAUW-Honolulu Branch Postgraduate Scholarship, which she received in 2014, helped fund Hoerman's archaeological dissertation research in in Sarawak, Malaysian Borneo.

"I was looking for funding for my PhD research, which in archaeology involves typically going off in the field somewhere, so I was looking for a scholarship that would enable that, and they're one of the few," Hoerman said. "It's fantastic because, say that you're a mother who's returned to school, you can use it to finance child care while you're pursuing your degree."

"You can use it for a variety of things... it's very flexible," she added.

Applications for the 2016-2017 academic year will open on Tuesday, December 1, 2015, coinciding with the "Appy Hour" mixer. The pau hana social, which includes complimentary pupus and a no host bar, will run from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Hawaii Yacht Club (1739 Ala Moana Blvd.)

AAUW Honolulu was founded in 1905 as the College Club, and is one of the oldest chapters of the national AAUW organization. For more information, visit honolulu-hi.aauw.net, or connect with the Honolulu branch on Facebook.

You can listen to our full interview with Hoerman here:

https://archive.org/download/aauw-honolulu-scholarship/aauw-honolulu-scholarship.mp3

Photos courtesy Dariusz Sankowski/Stocksnap.io and Wayne Akiyama.