Six local junior high school girls have been selected by the Goleta Valley branch of the American Association of University Women to attend the Tech Trek science and math camp at UCSB this summer.

Maria Herrera, Jasmine John and Negin Namavari, all from La Colina Junior High School, and Yazmin Hernandez, Miranda Jaimes and Melissa Wong, all from Goleta Valley Junior High, will spend a week on campus for the camp.

Initially nominated by their teachers, participants were chosen after a rigorous interview process. Beverly Kowalsky-Ching is chairwoman of the Tech Trek committee.

The program, founded by the California AAUW, was established with the goals of motivating young women to take math and science courses each year of high school and to attend college; inspiring them to major in subjects leading to careers in science, technology, engineering or math.

Since 1998, the first year of the program, nearly 6,000 girls have taken part. Recent participants are now attending more than 110 colleges, and 54 percent are majoring in one of the above areas. Raytheon and Elks Lodge 613 in Santa Barbara are major sponsors of the program.

— Martha Lannan represents the Goleta Valley branch of the American Association of University Women.