Passing On a Love of STEM
Coming from a low socio-economic background but with a high academic high school record, I was given a life-changing opportunity that allowed me to pursue my goal of being involved in scientific research. Many years later, as a stay-at-home mom, I’ve made it my mission for the last several years to give that opportunity back and share my passion for science by connecting students to STEM.
First, I helped to create a science lab at my children’s elementary school from the ground up and a system in which teachers could provide more hands-on learning experiments to students. Through a collaborative effort, parent volunteers – including myself who served as the volunteer lab coordinator – and a teacher organized existing and new science materials into one centralized place where parent volunteers could help set up and break down experiments for teachers. Because the teachers spent less time preparing and cleaning up experiments, students were able to explore the wonders of science through many meaningful standards-based investigations. It was so thrilling to hear students proclaim their love for science and desire to become a scientist in the future.
To supplement the science learning experience, I coordinated as a volunteer the annual science event and connected members of the science and engineering community with our students. To exemplify, fourth grade students learned about crime scene analysis first-hand from a local fingerprinting specialist and enjoyed lifting their fingerprints. Individuals with an engineering background provided lessons in gravity and friction through engaging lessons using motorized and pulley cars.
Having realized that material and people resources are key elements in giving students enriching experiences in science, I became more aware that funding to improve science educational programs is equally paramount. Therefore, via self-training, I volunteered to write grants and train others in the grant-writing process to obtain support for science programs at my children’s school and other school sites.
Fueled by students’ enthusiasm for STEM, I served as a volunteer coach for three science, robotics, and math teams within the same period and mentored multiple robotics teams and their coaches in subsequent years. This involved teaching basic programming, knowledge I gained through self-education.
Currently, I am the coordinator for our district-wide robotics program, which I helped to implement and expand over the span of three years. Additionally, I volunteer as a mentor for our newly created high school robotics program, which gives students the opportunity to apply for STEM scholarships to consider a possible career in these fields.
It is an honor to have connected many people with STEM experiences. One student explained how he would like to help people either as a scientist, physician, or an engineer because he too, would like to give back as a result of his experience in our robotics program. I know the individuals with whom I shared my love for STEM will be inspired to pass along the opportunity to connect others to STEM and thereby change the world.