Covestro hosts its first g4g Day at Space Center Houston to introduce hundreds of Houston-area girls to STEM careers and possibilities. (Pictured from left to right: William T. Harris, Space Center Houston; Jelena Lucin, greenlight for girls; Congresswoma

International science education expert and engineer Melissa Rancourt brought her global greenlight for girls (g4g) initiative to Space Center Houston today.  Hundreds of local girls, ages 11-15, participated in the day-long interactive, hands-on science event with retired NASA astronaut Brian Duffy and nearly 100 Covestro LLC scientists,engineers and other employee volunteers.

Click to tweet: .@CovestroGroup and @greenforgirls inspire 100s of girls to pursue #STEM at first-ever #g4gDayHouston at @SpaceCenterHou: http://bit.ly/2qB4Ucp.

g4g Day Houston, sponsored by Covestro as part of its i³ STEM initiative, marked the first-ever g4g event in Texas. g4g is an international organization that introduces girls of all ages and backgrounds to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) studies and careers through fun, interactive, hands-on workshops delivered by STEM mentors. Covestro is one of the world’s leading suppliers of polymers, and its largest manufacturing facility in North America is based in Houston, Texas.

Girls from underserved school districts around Houston, including Southwest Schools, KIPP Liberation College Preparatory, Odyssey Academy, and the five Goose Creek Independent School District junior high schools (Baytown, Cedar Bayou, Gentry, Highland and Horace Mann) spent the day codebreaking with the help of code.org; making batteries from fruit; building their own MARS Rover and creating their own polymers.   

Since 2010, more than 150 g4g Days have been held in 45 cities across six of the world’s seven continents. Most recently, Covestro and g4g launched in New Delhi, India, where 200 girls were welcomed in person by Covestro CEO Patrick Thomas. There are already plans in motion to bring the g4g Day events to Moscow and Banghkok.

“Covestro has long been committed to advancing STEM education and bringing more female and underrepresented minorities to the STEM table through scholarships, internships and support of educational programs, like g4g,” said Rod Herrick, vice president and site manager, Covestro Industrial Park Baytown. “As an innovation company, we know that the best ideas come from people who bring different perspectives, ideas and approaches to solving problems.”

“Around the world and across the United States, wherever g4g goes, we see how profoundly interested girls are in science. Our goal is to capture that interest and get girls thinking about the possibilities of careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics in order to build a future talent pipeline of female STEM leaders worldwide,” said g4g founder Rancourt.

With i³ STEM, Covestro has its own rich history of supporting and strengthening STEM education. A cradle-to-career initiative, i³ STEM in Baytown provides innovative, experiential education experiences beginning in elementary school with employee-volunteers and at the i³ STEM Center at Eddie V. Gray Wetlands Center; progressing on through junior and high school with Robotics Clubs, mentoring, career counseling and science fair judging; and, working at the higher education level with scholarships and internships and through the STEP Ahead initiative. Launched in 2012 by the National Association of Manufacturers, the initiative examines and promotes the role of women in the manufacturing industry through recognition, research and leadership for attracting, advancing and retaining strong female talent.

Together, Covestro and g4g share a common mission to expose more girls to STEM subjects and role models and increase their participation in STEM careers. According to the National Science Foundation, while women have made gains in U.S. STEM fields, they remain sorely underrepresented in engineering (15%), the physical sciences (31%) and computer and mathematical sciences (25%).

About Covestro LLC and i³ (ignite, imagine, innovate): 
Covestro LLC is one of the leading producers of high-performance polymers in North America and is part of the global Covestro business with 2016 sales of EUR 11.9 billion. Covestro manufactures high-tech polymer materials and develops innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction, medical and sports and leisure industries. The Covestro group has 30 production sites around the globe and employed approximately 15,600 people at the end of 2016.

i³ (ignite, imagine, innovate) is Covestro LLC’s companywide corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative that aims to spark curiosity, to envision what could be and to help create it. Built on the three pillars of philanthropy (i³ Give), employee volunteerism (i³ Engage) and STEM education (i³ STEM), i³ seeks to create sustainable and lasting impacts. i³ Give is designed to innovate corporate philanthropy strategies that combine both human and financial resources to build stronger communities. i³ Engage re-imagines the way employees from for-profits and nonprofits engage with one another for more effective outcomes. And, i³ STEM ignites young minds to become the innovators of tomorrow through support of hands-on, inquiry-based STEM education, workforce experience and employee volunteerism.

Find more information at www.covestro.com.

About greenlight4girls
Greenlight for girls is an international organization dedicated to encouraging girls of all ages and backgrounds to pursue STEM careers by introducing them to the world of science in fun and exciting ways. Founded five years ago by engineer, Melissa Rancourt, greenlight for girls has volunteers operating in every continent of the world, encouraging girls of all ages and backgrounds to get involved in science-related careers, through a variety of activities. 

Find more information at www.greenlightforgirls.org.

Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements based on current assumptions and forecasts made by Covestro AG. Various known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors could lead to material differences between the actual future results, financial situation, development or performance of the company and the estimates given here. These factors include those discussed in Covestro’s public reports which are available on the Covestro website at www.covestro.com. Covestro assumes no liability whatsoever to update these forward-looking statements or to conform them to future events or developments.

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Covestro LLC

Covestro LLC

Covestro LLC is one of the leading producers of high-performance polymers in North America and is part of the global Covestro business. Covestro manufactures high-tech polymer materials and develops innovative solutions for products used in many areas of daily life. The main segments served are the automotive, electrical and electronics, construction, medical and sports and leisure industries. i³ (ignite, imagine, innovate) is Covestro LLC’s companywide corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative that aims to spark curiosity, to envision what could be and to help create it. Built on the three pillars of philanthropy (i³ Give), employee volunteerism (i³ Engage) and STEM education (i³ STEM), i³ seeks to create sustainable and lasting impacts.

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