The Whidbey Island Branch of the American Association of University Women gathered at the home of Marti Thomson on Sept. 12 to celebrate four young women who won $900 Tech Trek scholarships.

Tech Trek is a camp designed for girls between seventh and eighth grade who are interested in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) subjects.

The girls were nominated by their teachers for the scholarship and had to complete an application, which included an essay and an interview.

Once selected, the girls attended the weeklong camp in July, held at Pacific Lutheran University. The students lived in dorms on campus and participated in classes about robotics, genetics, chemistry and more.

The four winners of the scholarships this year were Langley Middle School’s Ari Marshall, Ayla Randolph of Oak Harbor Middle School, North Whidbey Middle School’s Hannah Samuels, and Coupeville Middle School student Anna Dion.

The American Association of University Women’s mission is to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. To learn more, contact Barb Bland at barble@comcast.net or Ann Zimmerman at annzim@swcp.com.