Cabrillo-Diego Branch

Tech Trek was established by the California AAUW to encourage girls entering the 8th grade to aspire to careers in Math, Science and Computer Technology. The first Tech Trek was held the summer of 1998 at Stanford University. Tech Trek 1999 expanded to include camps at Fresno and San Diego in addition to Stanford.

Here in San Diego Tech Trek girls attend a week-long camp on the UCSD campus where they live the life of a college student. They learn to live with someone other than a relative, eat dorm food and explore the campus area under the careful supervision of camp staff. The girls will also interact with women who model a high degree of science, math or computer expertise as part of their daily lives. They learn Physics via the roller coaster, tour a facility on robotics, study Astronomy, learn about Great Women in History, find DNA, and study marine biology with a boat trip on the bay.

A 2007 report on the impact of Tech Trek on students who attended in the program's first four years,  1998-2001, was developed from a survey developed and analyzed by Woodside Research Consortium. Please read the full report: Initial Report on the Impact of the AAUW California Tech Trek Science Camp for Girls and its acknowledgments .

Included in the report and separated out here are selected comments from the surveyed girls.  These girls attended many prestigious California, national and international institutions of higher learning ,


If you would like more information on Tech Trek, either to find out how to get your daughter involved, or to donate much-needed funds (each Trekker's tuition costs approximately $800 and includes room & board for the week), please contact our Tech Trek Chair via our e-mail address: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

The AAUW Educational Foundation is the largest source of funding exclusively for graduate women in the world. The Foundation supports aspiring scholars around the globe, teachers and activists in local communities, women at critical stages of their careers, and those pursuing professions where women are underrepresented, as well as funding groundbreaking research, fellowships and grants for outstanding women from around the globe, special awards, vital community action projects, symposia, roundtables, and forums.

The Foundation's cornerstone has always been the remarkable energy and commitment of AAUW members, other individuals, corporations, and foundations that make contributions and help raise money for the Foundation's work.

Foundation Mission and Diversity Statements

The AAUW Educational Foundation provides funds to advance education, research, and self-development for women and to foster equity and positive societal change.

In principle and practice, the AAUW Educational Foundation values and seeks diversity. There shall be no barriers to full participation in this organization on the basis of gender, race, creed, age, sexual orientation, national origin, disability, or class.

How You Can Help

Your contributions to the AAUW Educational Foundation will promote educational equity for women and girls throughout the nation and the world. The AAUW Educational Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. Contributions are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.

You can contribute through our local branch by contacting the Educational Foundation Chair.

The first woman in space, American Astronaut Sally Ride is an Education Foundation Fellow, too, and frequently speaks at AAUW-supported functions like Tech Trek here in San Diego.