On facebook of all places, I came across the story of a high school student, a young female that had won $100,000 for her research in computer science from the Intel Science Search. From this contest over 30 high school students won some monetary prize for engaging in research in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (to see the article visit the http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35902666/ns/technology_and_science-science/). I was throughly impressed by these young minds and the various topics of there research. It seems like these students love for science and math was fostered at an early age by their parents, educators and mentors. I am confident that these students are well on their way to become a part of the future STEM workforce.
As I read this story, I reflected upon several things and had several questions about these kids. Most of the kids weren't photographed for this story, so I wonder how many of these students were African American or Hispanic or would be labeled "at risk" youth. Did all of these kids come from families where they had strong parental support and an atmosphere at home where academic achievement was not only expected but promoted. How many of these engaged in hands on math and science activities at school, at home or in the community? How many of these kids went to math and science summer camps? How were this kids about to over the peer pressure that math and science isn't cool. How many of these kids were able to meet and interact with STEM professionals. What facilities and other resources did they have access to in order to conduct their research? How did they learn about this contest?
The Experimental Design Program is our program that provides math and science fair project support for K-12 students and educators. This is one of the program activities that we started day one of our existence. My vision is that more K-12 students independent of school district, parental support or racial identify can have the resources available to them to conduct experiments for math and science projects. I want any students that has a project and a desire to complete it to be able to come to us to get the support to be competitive in not only those math and science fair that are supported by their district, but for contest such as these. What encourages me about these type of contest and this story is that student can learn at an early age that there is just as much financial and other rewards for being a STEM professional as being an athlete or entertainer.
So our goal is truly to continue to increase the quality and quantity of math and science fair projects by providing students with the resources necessary to conduct experiments that are competitive. We have to "unveil potential through exposure" on math and science fair project at a time.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
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About SEM Link
- SEM Link
- Science, Engineering and Mathematics Link, Inc. (SEM Link), a tax-exempt nonprofit organization, was founded in 2004 on the premise that exposure to members of the science, engineering and mathematics (SEM) communities is critical to student development in math and science. Our mission is to promote student achievement and career exploration in math and science while increasing student exposure to the science, engineering and mathematics communities and enhancing resources that are available at local schools and community organizations. Our two core programs, Math and Science Career Academy and Experimental Design Program, provide students with an opportunity to develop their math and science skills by enhancing the classroom learning experience and teaching them skills that are transferable to other areas of life. We recruit students and professionals for our programs that have backgrounds in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.