Creating a Partnership with Elected Officials to Promote Student Achievement and Career Exploration in Math and Science

As non profit organization, we are constantly looking for ways to obtain resources and support for our programs and services; for without resources we can't achieve our mission. People always see grants, volunteers and corporations, but have we explored the resources and connections that we can get form our elected officials.

I know that me personally,although I am the first person to vote in an election and sign a petition, I don't have much interaction with my elected officials on the local, state and federal level. However, as I am beginning efforts to make SEM Link a national organization, I am getting suggestions that I can't do that without building relationships with elected officials on the city, county, state and even federal level. What resources can these elected officials provide to our organization? The first thing that I can think about is name recognition, even if the elected official doesn't give you a dollar, it validates your organization's presence in the community having the endorsement and support of the elected official. The second resources is connections in the community, it takes a lot of money and influence to become an elected official, if he or she believes in your mission that politician can connect you to all the money, power and influence that helped them get elected to not only get the resources that are needed, but to get your name out in the community as well as build your brand. Finally, the new relationship with the staff of elected officials can get you access to discretionary funds, information about upcoming grants and in some cases a voice to affect policy in the area in which you serve.

As I think about what we can do to become a national organization, that is able to "unveil potential through exposure", I have to look at building relationships with the elected officials in the areas we serve.

Celebration of Current African American STEM history makers.

I truly admire our EPA administrator, Ms. Lisa P. Jackson even though I hadn't heard of her until she became current job. What I like about her is that she is a chemical engineer just like me that has utilized her training as an engineer to make a difference in the world. She proves my theory that if you get your training as a scientist or engineer, you will learn skills that are transferable and will allow you to be successful in any career path.

I am a fan of Ms. Jackson's facebook page and she was honored as the The Grio's Top 100 history makers (http://www.thegrio.com/black-history/thegrios-100/). As I reviewed this article, I noticed that there were several African-American STEM professionals on this list and I become excited. One of the things I noticed is that whenever there is talk about famous STEM professionals, most of them are dead. I know that there are African Americans that are alive that are making their contribution to the field. So thank you grio.com for sharing their stories, you should check it out.

Finally, be sure to share this story with the children that you know, especially African American children. I truly believe students that are typically underrepresented in these career paths aren't pursuing this fields not because they don't have the ability, but because they don't see people like them who can serve as role models and mentors. So I encourage you this month and every month to ensure that children get an opportunity to see people like themselves, even if it is in a magazine or a website like this pursuing a diversity of careers. It is my vision that all children believe the words of the hook, which I may be paraphrasing, to one of my favorite rapper NAS's song where he has children singing "I know I can, be what I want to be, if I work hard at it, I can do anything"

Celebration of African American STEM Professionals for African American Heritage Month

Today is African American Heritage Month better known as Black History Month. It is a month that is designated to celebrate the contributions of African Americans to society. One area of contribution that African Americans isn't always recognized for is the area of science, technology, engineering and mathematics. African Americans, past, present and future have made a great contribution to society through inventions, research and innovations in the STEM disciplines.

A mentor of mine says that in order to study the history of math and science you have to go back to its origins. The foundations of many of the principles and theories in math and science can be traced back to ancient African civilizations. For example chemistry, has origins in Kemet, which is was the land of the dark people. Mathematics principles such as in basic arithmetic, algebra, geometry and trigonometry can be traced to ancient African civilizations. As well as principles in medicine, pharmacy, horticulture and engineers.

In American History, African Americans have been innovators and leaders in STEM disciplines. African Americans invented everyday items such as the ironing board, washing machine, traffic light, refrigerator and many more. We continue to be innovators in the STEM disciplines, so let's not only celebrate stem professionals past and present, but tell our children their stories so we can have future STEM professionals.

The intersection of science and policy

In Tuesday's online section of energy and environment, there was a report in 2009, the use of wind power as a source of renewable energy went up 39% percent. But the increase of use of renewable energy sources as a part of how we generate power, isn't simply left to science alone, but is due to some government intervention as well. At times, the innovations in science and technology are kinda like the chicken and the egg theory. Which came first, the innovation in science or the government regulation and/or funding in the area of innovation?

In the past few years, with the high oil prices, the problems that diplomatic problems with the Middle East and the rest of the world and pollution caused by generation of power has fueled a debate on how can we achieve energy independence and use more renewable energy sources. Even if the diplomatic relations between the oil producing companies and the rest of the world are always peaceful, fossil fuel are a limited supply and will one day run out. So they debate begin, how to we create a cost effective way of generating power for our homes, business and cars that will allow us to be responsible stewards of the planet.

The technology for use to generate wind power as a renewable energy source has been around for years. There have been wind turbines and wind turbines around for several years. But why the jump of the use of wind energy in 2009; more federal regulation on the use of renewable energy and money for the federal stimulus bill to support this initiative. The growth of wind power, will be based on the level of governmental regulation. The more regulation concerning electricity and the use of renewable energy resources in power generation; the more innovation and practical use we will see.

I'm just curious what other scientific discoveries are lead by government regulation and vice versa. In the big scheme of things, my major concern is that we continue to have innovations in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and funding to support scientific research.

So

Scientific literacy and the world around us

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson defines scientific literacy as how you see and view the world. When you think about it that is exactly what reading and writing science (scientific literacy) is. Some people confuse it for the ability to derive the newton's first law of thermodynamics or any chemical or mathematical question. But science and math is much simpler than that; it is part of who we are and what we do on a daily basis. It is such an integral part of our world, you can't understand the world and how it functions without understanding science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

For example, let's take cooking something that we do everyday, you have to understand basic math such as fractions to ensure that you are using the proper amount of ingredients to get the taste and flavor you desire. When turning on your lights, you must understand the simple concept of circuits, electric engineering and physics. When you drive your car, you are understanding the concepts of material science, mechanical engineering and chemical engineering. When you use your computer or your cell phone, you must understand concepts of electrical and computer engineering and material science.

You see if you pay attention to what is around you; science, technology, engineering and mathematics is the basics on your every day life. When you are able to recognize that you are scientifically literate.

Celebrating the Legacy of Dr. Martin L. King Jr and Leaving your own legacy

Yesterday was Martin Luther King Jr's birthday and this weekend is the celebration of his life and legacy. Dr. King was truly a great man and left a lasting impact on this world, through his teachings and what he accomplished to make this country a better place for us all. Although, we still have strides to make to improve racial relations and equality for all in this country; it is so much better than it would be if Dr. King, other civil rights leaders of the time and those who joined them in that great cause. Those individuals worked hard to make the change they vision of what this world could be and their vision has come to pass.

One can learn so many things from the life and legacy of Dr. King. This great man, died over 40 years ago and not only are we still celebrating his life and impact on the world, but teaching his principles to the current and future generations. The main lesson I take away from Dr. King is that if you want to be a great person, you can't just live your life, you must leave a legacy. In order to leave a legacy, you have to live your life working for a towards making life better for more than just yourself and those in your network. When I moved to Atlanta and visited the King center I learned that Dr. King and his family were part of the privileged African Americans that had access to education and wealth. Not to say that they didn't have it hard, but they had it better than most African Americans in the south during their time. But he had a desire to make life better for more than just his family, but for his community and the world; and he accomplished that and every day the world is becoming a better place.

The second lesson that I take from Dr. King's life and legacy is when you are passionate about a cause, that passion ignites others to join you in your cause. If you think about it most visions that make an impact in the world are too large for one person to accomplish on his own. But that person has to be a great communicator and have great passion, to ignite others toward his cause and work toward making the vision a reality. Dr. King inspired so many people to make a difference in the world as he saw it needed to be changed, from the leaders he trained to assist him with the direct organization of the movement to the countless people all over the country that joined him in the cause. We wouldn't even be talking about the March on Washington, if only Dr. King was present. We wouldn't even be taking about Dr. King if he didn't have people to believe and buy in to his vision and work towards the cause.

I just want to take some time to thank Dr. King for thinking bigger than himself to make a difference in this world. Thank you Dr. King for the life you lived and the legacy you left for those who have come behind you. His life truly inspired me to think bigger than myself and establish SEM Link 5 years ago. But just like Dr. King, my vision to promote academic achievement and career exploration in math and science for K-12 is too big for me to make a reality all by myself. So I want to thank all the board members past and present, the staff, the volunteers, corporate and community partners for joining me in making the vision of "unveiling potential through exposure" a reality. Let us continue the work that we started so that SEM Link can leave a legacy and make its impact in math and science education. We are on our way to creating the members of the future STEM workforce.

President Obama's STEM initiative aligns with SEM Link's Vision of Mentoring

When I received the link to this article on my Facebook page about this initiative that the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Department of Education and Learn and Serve America is pushing as a MLK Jr Holiday service project, I thought, my friends and colleagues in DC must have told President Obama about SEM Link( for more information visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2010/01/12/mlk-technology-challenge). This project encourages technology professionals to partner with schools to improve their technology infrastructure and increase their use of technology.

With this being the beginning of the New year and National Mentoring Month, it is important that we think of ways we can mentor youth. You see the thing about mentoring there is no right or wrong way to mentor as your proteges learn something during their time with you. Our organization was founded and we selected the name for the organization as SEM Link for the same premise in which this project is based ; we can enhance the educational experiences for youth when we connect them with STEM professionals, undergraduate and graduate students. The great thing about connecting the STEM community to the K-12 students and educators is that it truly combines the best of both worlds for the students to prepare them for our future. The educators teach the students the basics educational foundation and implement the principles of student learning. The STEM community brings the strong content knowledge in these subject areas and opens the students eyes to the possibilities of who they can be, what more they can do right now and what they can do when they grow up.

So STEM community, be a part of the link that our organization is building between schools and the community by getting involved. If have time to spare be a doer and find an ongoing service opportunity like tutoring, math or science fair project mentoring. If your time is limited volunteer for a one time event like judging a math or serving as an exhibitor for our career fair. If you don't have time, but you have some extra cash be a donor by making a financial contribution to our organization. Visit our website at www.semsuccess.org to find out what you can get involved and link yourself to K-12 students and educators and help us "unveil potential through exposure".