Fostering future innovators: Experts highlight pathways to STEM success

By Tashi McQueen
AFRO Staff Writer
tmcqueen@afro.com

With the demand for professionals with science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) skills on the rise, leaders, teachers and parents need to consider how they can prepare the next generation to meet the need.

Panelists at the 39th Annual Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) Conference share insight on how leaders, teachers and parents can introduce youth to science, technology, engineering and math (STEM), while preparing students for emerging career opportunities. Shown here: Janelle Jackson (left), an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force; Miriam Thomas, a project-based learning coordinator at Arlington Tech, a STEM academy in Arlington Public Schools; Michelle Van Lare, a program coordinator for Arlington Tech; Korie Grayson, a biomedical engineer and science policy professional; and Kevin Norton, a K-12 STEM program manager in the Office of University Research at the University of the District of Columbia.
Photo Credit: AFRO Photo/Tashi McQueen

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ projections for 2022-’32, employment in STEM occupations is expected to grow faster than non-STEM occupations—7 percent versus 2 percent.

Panelists at the 39th annual Black Engineer of the Year Award (BEYA) – also billed as the Becoming Everything You Are Conference—discussed ways parents and leaders can expose youth to STEM.

Korie Grayson, a biomedical engineer and science policy professional, highlighted the effectiveness of mentoring in engaging students in STEM and how it helped her.

“Mentors are so important to me,” Grayson said on Feb. 13 at the conference in Baltimore. “A lot of times, it was them seeing something in me that I didn’t see in myself and pushing me.”

Grayson said her experience with mentors began in high school with her guidance counselor.

“I ended up getting into 14 schools and had almost $500,000 in scholarships because of her,” Grayson said.

Grayson’s counselor enlisted her in three AP classes her senior year, saying that would make her competitive for college. She also helped her apply to several institutions, which gave her the opportunity to attend Norfolk State University, a historically Black college and university, and later Cornell University, an Ivy League school. In these collegiate atmospheres, Grayson connected with various other mentors who helped her navigate and find her voice in STEM.

Alongside utilizing mentorship, panelists mentioned a few programs that could help teachers and leaders incorporate STEM skill-building into K-12 education.

Miriam Thomas, a project-based learning (PBL) coordinator at Arlington Tech in Arlington Public Schools, outlined the benefits of PBL, a teaching method in which students learn by engaging in reality-based and interest-guided projects. Arlington Tech is a program that teaches youth in grades 9-12 using PBL and career technical education (CTE).

“Being invested in a project that relates to them and their environment, they get to see how it impacts their life and not just something they are learning for a grade,” Thomas said. “As a teacher, the student comes up with the idea, I take my standards and build off of that student’s idea. That student has a reason, a motivation, to continue to learn, while learning the standards I’m teaching.”

Thomas said another tool parents and leaders can use to encourage youth to pursue STEM careers is demystifying science, technology, engineering and math careers. She said teachers and leaders can take what a young person is interested in, show them how STEM fits into that interest and connect them with people currently doing that work.

Michelle Van Lare, a program coordinator for Arlington Tech, discussed the benefits of using both CTE and PBL to help K-12 youth build their STEM skills. According to the Department of Defense Education Activity, CTE equips youth with career-specific skills, preparing them for college and the workforce.

Van Lare sees the combination of CTE and PBL as a metaphorical playground.

“It’s a sandbox for kids to be able to play around with the skills and materials of all of these careers and technology,” Van Lare said. “They get to play around with the raw materials and then see where that builds.”

Van Lare highlighted that through Arlington Tech, students can graduate high school with an associate degree.

Janelle Jackson, an active-duty member of the U.S. Air Force, emphasized the importance of creating a strong foundation for K-12 youth.

“Having routines in place, a space where they can talk about what they’re feeling, about their academics, what they want to do with their lives…that’s important in order to establish a stronger foundation, so they can be successful,” Jackson said.