USC Partners with #GirlsBuildLA for ‘Hidden Figures’ Screening to Celebrate Girls in STEM
On January 10, USC Galen Center will be home to 10,000 young girls (and their teachers) from the Los Angeles public school system for a special screening of the movie Hidden Figures. The event is hosted by the LA Promise Fund as part of the #GirlsBuildLA program and in partnership with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans and the White House Initiative on Education Excellence for Hispanics.
The event is set to be one of the largest initiatives to support young female students in LA county. The special screening, for middle and high school students and their teachers, will not only be a chance to interact with stars (Pharrell Williams, Octavia Spencer, Aldis Hodge), but also allows USC and LA Promise Fund to drive home the importance of fostering a love and knowledge of STEM to today’s generation of female students.
Planned guests for the the event include:
- Pharrell Williams, Special Guest
- Octavia Spencer, Star of “Hidden Figures”
- Aldis Hodge, Star of “Hidden Figures” and “Straight Outta Compton”
- Stacey Snider, CEO, 20th Century Fox
- Peter Chernin, Chairman and CEO, The Chernin Group
- Megan Chernin, Board Co-Chair, LA Promise Fund
- Veronica Melvin, President and CEO, LA Promise Fund
- Diana Trujillo, Activity Lead for NASA’s Mars Curiosity Rover
- Mark Ridley-Thomas, LA County Board of Supervisors, 2nd District
- Peggy Whitson, NASA astronaut and first female commander of the International Space Station
- Knatokie Ford, Biomedical Scientist; Senior Policy Advisor, White House Office of Science and Technology Policy; former teacher, Los Angeles Unified School District
Use the hashtag #LadiesWhoLaunch on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to follow along with the event.
Bringing #LadiesWhoLaunch into the Classroom
To foster this focus of girls in STEM, Journeys in Film has created discussion guides that teachers can use with their students in the classroom to foster collaboration and critical thinking skills around women and women of color in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
