Girls get their geek on at camp

Classes ended weeks ago, but early Monday morning three black-and-white Volkswagens with bright orange "Geek Squad" logos sat near the main entrance of Mound Westonka High School.

The iconic "Geekmobiles" may have seemed out of place outside the school instead of outside Richfield-based Best Buy's signature blue storefront. But that was intentional.

Inside the school, 20 "special agents" from Best Buy's computer services force transformed several classrooms into workshops and game areas for 80 local preteen and teen girls as part of the Geek Squad Summer Academy.

The girls are spending three days building personal computers, designing Web pages and engaging in other technology activities, including Dance Dance Revolution and Nintendo Wii tournaments. It's part of a Best Buy effort to introduce more girls to computer-related technology and the potential for careers in the industry.

"When I started with Best Buy, there were very few women with Geek Squad," said Moira Hardek, Best Buy's summer academy director. "But I used to drive [the Geekmobiles] and fix computers alongside the guys."

Hardek piloted the program at a large all-girls Catholic high school in Chicago last year while working as a "field agent" at a local Geek Squad precinct. She and other Best Buy employees will travel to 11 more cities, including Chicago, Atlanta, Los Angeles and Miami to help local employees host similar programs for girls.

The Westonka School District's program, which runs through Wednesday, is the final Geek Squad camp scheduled in the Twin Cities metro area this summer. Inver Hills Community College in Inver Grove Heights hosted a camp last week.

"I teach these classes [during the regular school year], and they're filled with boys," Simonson said.

According to recent statistics about women and computer-technology careers, Best Buy's effort couldn't come at a better time.

Computing Research Association's recent Taulbee Survey of universities with Ph.D. programs shows a 20 percent drop from 2005-06 to 2006-07 in students completing bachelor's degrees in professional IT fields despite promising employment prospects. Only a small fraction of those degrees were awarded to women.

Hardek said those statistics motivate her and other Best Buy employees involved with the camp.

"This program is designed to break the barriers that prevent girls and later women from entering careers in technology," she said.

Other girls seemed to feel the same as they asked questions about fans found in most PCs and common problems such as overheating.

"I think what guys can do, girls can do, too," Howard said.

Patrice Relerford • 612-673-4395