Peninsula girls 'investigate' work of women in county law enforcement
REDWOOD CITY -- When Deputy Rosemerry Blankswade said she was going to tell the group of young girls the best part of being a woman in law enforcement, the students leaned in for a scoop on crime scene investigation, handling police dogs and how she became the first female motorcycle officer in the Foster City police department's history.
Instead, the message was one reinforced to them week by week in San Mateo County's S.T.E.M. (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) program, designed to help close the achievement gap by harnessing future career goals and providing positive female role models for young Peninsula girls.
"The best part of my job is working with other strong women," said Blankswade, now a deputy sheriff in San Mateo County.
Deputy Rosemerry Blankswade shows Kaysi Torres, 8, how to use a radar gun during a class from San Mateo County staff members at Rocket Fuel in Redwood City, Calif., on Wednesday, March 4, 2015. (John Green/Bay Area News Group) (JOHN GREEN)
"As women, we don't need to compete with each other," Assistant Sheriff Trisha Sanchez added. "We need to support each other and help each other up."
The 50 girls received a crash course in what it takes to become a woman in law enforcement Wednesday during the eighth of 13 S.T.E.M sessions made possible through a partnership between the Sheriff's Activities League and advertising technology company Rocket Fuel. The third- through sixth graders, half from schools in East Palo Alto and half from Garfield Community School in Menlo Park, got an up-close glimpse of law enforcement work by investigating a mock crime scene, testing speed with a radar gun, solving traffic equations, swabbing DNA and learning to lift their own prints from "evidence."
"I liked the fingerprints, so I think I'd make a good detective," said Kimberly Garcia, a sixth-grader at Garfield.
"I would want to work for the K9 unit because I'm good with dogs," said Maya Hernandez, a sixth-grader at Kennedy Middle School.
Officials told Hernandez and the other girls that the sheriff's office has women at every level of command, from correctional officers to deputy sheriff, sergeant, lieutenant, captain and finally, assistant sheriff. They were given a primer on the history and progress of women in law enforcement, then told of opportunities available to them in their not-too-distant future.
The S.T.E.M. program's oldest girls, the sixth-graders, will be able to "join" the ranks of the San Mateo County Sheriff's office in just two years through an auxiliary program.
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Peninsula girls 'investigate' work of women in county law enforcement