Agata Kizerwetter prefers to spend her free time repairing motorcycles.

Kizerwetter, a high school sophomore from Buffalo Grove, is participating in the Women in Engineering program this week.

The five-day program, sponsored by the college of engineering, was designed to give high school females hands-on experience in various engineering careers. It is an attempt by the University to attract more women to the College of Engineering.

Last fall, 9 percent of the 1,030 engineering students were female. That statistic is one Hasan Sevim, Associate Dean of the College of Engineering, wants to change.

"High school level students usually don't have an idea of the [engineering] professions in general, but they know doctors. They know lawyers," said Sevim. "They have an idea of what those professions are."

The variety of activities offered helps participants learn more about engineering. The program involve females doing everything from cleaning up mock oil spills to assembling a 15 ft. bridge using precision-made metal parts.

The girls also witness engineering in the workplace at local companies, such as Maytag, or environmental engineering at the SIU fish hatchery.

Sevim said the hovercraft race, sponsored by the SIUC Hovercraft Team, is the girls' favorite part of the program. The girls build hovercrafts and then race them against each other.

According to a 2003 report from the American Institute of Physics, the gap between men and women in engineering programs results in the transition from high school to college. In high school, 50 percent of students in physics were female, but less than 25 percent of the bachelor degrees awarded were in areas related to physics.

Naomi Bush, a counselor for the program and a senior in engineering, said she believes the gap is more mental than anything.

"Because a lot of girls don't know there are opportunities out there and it is very misrepresented, they get very intimidated," Bush said.

Even with the low numbers, female students make big contributions, Sevim said. For example, half of the academic awards go to female students due to their academic merit and achievements, he said.

The "Outstanding Senior" award, presented annually to the top senior in engineering, has been awarded to a female in five out of the last six years. This year, there was a tie between two females, he said.

Nearly 50 percent of the summer participants return to SIUC to attend the School of Engineering, Sevim said. He said the University is considering designing a new six-week program that is more in-depth.