International Day of Women and Girls in Science
Wednesday, February 11, 2026
Today we join UNESCO for a global event to celebrate women in science as we shape a future where science, technology, engineering and mathematics advance along with gender equality.
The YMCA of Fredericton is keen to share the details about our partnership with Science East and YMCA Early Years Programs.
This winter, the YMCA of Fredericton has collaborated with Science East to offer a one-of-a-kind Kinder club for our youngest members. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings, our group of budding scientists meet with Alexis Savoie and Michelle Roy-Brock from Science East.
Both Alexis and Michelle are excellent representatives of women working in the field of science.
Alexis Savoie has been working as an outreach educator with Science East since October 2025. She has a degree in Software Engineering from UNB as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Education
Alexis’s journey towards a career in science blossomed out of her love of problem solving and puzzles. She figured that mathematics would be the ideal program of study in university. However, when the opportunity arose to take a computer science elective, she discovered this was a fascinating path to follow, and switched her program of study to Software Engineering.
Simultaneously, Alexis was keen to find a career path that would foster her love of working with people from all backgrounds and ages. She knew she had a talent for taking seemingly difficult concepts and explaining them to others in a way that is easy to understand. This led her on the path to pursue a separate degree in education.
Alexis worked as a teacher in Campbellton, New Brunswick before moving to Fredericton to become an outreach educator with Science East. She loves planning and leading S.T.E.M. workshops for children between 2 – 5 years old and from kindergarten and beyond. The biggest perk is seeing how the workshops spark interest in the children and ignite their curiosity to learn “how” and “why”, and answer the questions with science.
Michelle Roy-Brock is the Program Officer for Science East and has been with them for 3.5 years. Michelle is an example of someone who has found herself in the field of science, despite coming from an unexpected educational background. Michelle studied History and Museum studies at Mount Allison University. Her area of expertise is in community spaces, which informs her work developing educational programming and partnerships for Science East. She is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in the field of Non-Profit Leadership at N.S.C.C. and she is keen to bring her knowledge to the development and management of Science East.
Both Michelle and Alexis are enthused by the Science East and YMCA of Fredericton collaboration. Every session is designed to spark curiosity, nurture learning and inspire a lifelong love for discovery. They are seeing that the parents and caregivers who support the program appreciate the quality of the activities, experiments and games of the Kinder Club. The families also appreciate the added value to their child’s Y membership. The Kinder Club is one of many programs in which the child can enroll. It can complement a full slate of activities that can include a swimming lesson, multisport, ballet or gymnastics! Not to mention drop in access to family swims and the indoor play structure.
Science East runs several programs where children can round out their education. Their S.T.E.M. workshops can be found mainly in libraries and schools, and they make frequent appearances at community events with their hands-on learning activities. With some cool pop-up opportunities being planned, you can expect to see more from Science East around Fredericton this year!
We are all very grateful to be a part of a team that is inspiring the next generation of scientists, engineers, inventors and science enthusiasts.
To learn more about Early Years Programs at the YMCA, follow this link.