5 minute read
Northshore STEM
Written by Betsy O’Leary | Photos by Phillip Colwart
Northshore Regional STEM Center strives to bring opportunities to local students and community members because involvement with STEM is a pathway to prosperity for children and adults. Community engagement opens doors to jobs in health care, robotics, and environmental and computer science.
Science - Technology - Engineering - Math
We caught up with the movers and shakers of the parish STEM community to learn about their new projects. Present from Northshore Regional STEM Center were Wendy Conarro, Director; Dan Scheer, Education Manager; and Catie Mackey, Americorps VISTA Stakeholder Engagement Coordinator.
Tina Roper, Director of Geaux Jobs (Louisiana Workforce Area 20) and Board president involved with the Northshore STEM Coalition also joined the group, along with George Corkern, a robotics instructor from the Bogalusa YMCA who serves on the board of the Northshore STEM Coalition.
Other leaders in the STEM community include the following board members for the non-profit Northshore STEM Coalition: Collin Whitcombe, Northshore Regional STEM Center project coordinator, Dr. George Anthon, Anthon Chiropractic, Dr. Deborah Dardis, SLU Biology Department, Darnell Whitington, Explore & Learn, LLC, and Betty Lee, City of Hammond Recreation Department.
The group and its local sponsors have worked together for nearly a decade in various collaborations with present and former area politicians and community leaders. One such project is the annual Back-to-School STEM Fest at Southeastern held the last Saturday of August (26th this year) at SLU’s Pennington Student Activity Center. Last year, almost 2,000 school children and their families attended and interacted with 40+ organizations both inside and outside, like the Black Hawk helicopters on display. southeastern.edu/stemfest
A major hurdle here is rural isolation. The signature project, the Brain Food Truck (sponsored in part by the United Way and other local and groups), combats this by bringing mobile resources designed for hands-on, mindson STEM activities. Projects target kids in 3rd-8th grades on the Northshore by getting them involved in fun, reallife projects. The Brain Food Truck is available to use for both public and private events. brainfoodtruck.org
Conarro said parents seek year-round opportunities for eager kids with interests in STEM. To answer this need, the STEM Café project was born. Up to 200 kids attended each café held in five Northshore parish schools and community centers. northshorestem.org/stemcafes.
STEM’s connection to gaming, e-sports, and robotics have enhanced its popularity for kids eager to design games and write code for them. They realize well-paying game development and coding careers now begin with the skills developed in STEM.
When it comes to the big picture, the Northshore STEM Coalition is the think-tank and the community’s action arm tasked with strategizing and making the most of resources. There’s a need for quality STEM mentoring, and the Coalition uses a network of coaches to discover potential robotics mentors. The annual Robotics Mentoring Extravaganza by Mentorforrobotics.org builds relationships with industry insiders while leveraging resources to fund immersive STEM environments. Students need mentoring by faculty or community members who can share their expertise in business, marketing, and fundraising.
Investigating opportunities linked to STEM can change a family’s economic trajectory. Adults can take classes and get certified by completing either Northshore Technical Community College’s two-year program or a four-year degree from Southeastern. Highdemand STEM jobs can bring in competitive, six-figure salaries.
The interactive site STEMExchange.org was launched this year to connect people with industry resources. Anyone can create an account and check off interests. The Exchange will then notify the user via email with upcoming events and information on volunteer opportunities, and activities such as field trips and summer camps that fall into the selected catagories.
Hammond Airshow Challenge Winners
This past school year, the Hammond Airshow Challenge engaged hundreds of teachers and students, families and community members across southeast Louisiana to design, test and compete in four aviation challenges.
Registered students in 3rd grade through college chose one of four challenges to try their hand and engage their mind with the math and physics of flight. All of the challenges were designed to be done at school, home, or in the community. The Challenges were designed by the NASA STEM Engagement Astro Camp Team and administered by Northshore STEM.
Four teams comprised of 14 youth were selected as winners:
X-Plane Glider Challenge Winners: 1st Place - Blue Diamonds - Madison Ray, Brianna Dupart, Aubrey Narcisst, Faith Davis
2nd Place - Lemon Squad Beach - Ezekiel Montgomery, Da’Nae Magee, Jadon Sterling, Brian Dupart
3rd Place - Team Save the World - Laila Davis, Jamila Davis
Honorable Mention - HARD SuperStars - Elisa Johnson, Charvalis Travis, Nicholas Sturdevant
UAV Propeller Challenge Winner: 1st Place - Solo Voyager - Isabella Crosby
Each member of the winning teams will receive family ticket packages to the Hammond Airshow happening October 20-21 and additional prizes based on their winning placement.
