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S. ECKERT AND L. STEINER
Fitting an after-school spot into the girls’ already busy schedule was difficult. For other girls, unfortunately, after-school programs were unworkable, because school busses ran only once classes were over and neither schools nor working parents could provide transportation later. Small as it might sound, our idea to provide snacks before starting our program became for some girls a crucial element for attendance: they arrived hungry to our workshops. While these conditions differed depending on the school, and sometimes week to week, the universities Institutional Review Board (IRB) procedure was the same for all girls and schools to research how participants experienced our intervention with pre- and post-workshop online surveys. Working with children and the internet prompted extra paperwork. Getting permission took a couple of months. The process was further complicated as each participant needed to sign an assent form while her parents needed to sign a consent form; that is, the participants needed to take the forms home for the parents to sign. At some schools parents attended an information session we offered. But not all parents have time, inclination, or energy to participate. Collecting signatures from all girls and all parents remained a major challenge as the IRB process was very unfamiliar to them; some did not understand why participating in a “fun” workshop would require approval. The assent and consent processes were further complicated as some girls joined late. In sum, keeping track of everyone and organizing logistics consumed the biggest share of time. The teaching itself was the icing and seeing the girls benefit from all our work was a joy. It was equally challenging to schedule meetings in which all seven busy team members (five students and two faculty advisors) could participate. Often we used Skype for one or two members to discuss our teaching plans, listen to everyone’s experience, and adjust our ideas. We learned that recruiting team members requires everyone to understand how much time they must invest, especially when they earn pay or credit. While graduate students and faculty may be flexible in arranging their heavy workloads, undergraduates have more rigid schedules. Nevertheless, that each member understands participating means actively contributing and closely communicating is crucial. Moving Wikid GRRLs to Detroit After the pilot ended, the first author transitioned from PhD candidate to assistant professor at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. While the Wayne community welcomed
