‘STEM Da Community’ event exposes youth to various careers in STEM, push to grow workforce

SALISBURY, Md. – “I just love to take stuff apart and making things. I have a bunch of tools at home,” Moore said.

Jaxon Moore is a 7th grade student at Salisbury Middle School.  He says his love for computers and taking things apart led him to the Scholars 4 STEM program. “I’ve always loved STEM. I’ve always liked technology and how it works,” Moore said.

Saturday, the group hosted its second annual STEM Da Community event. The effort is in collaboration with the Salisbury University Foundation.

Youth ages k-12 got a fun and hands-on experience in all things STEM from water rocket making to what it takes to build a robot from students in Worcester Technical High’s School’s robotic team.  “I just love doing it and I think the aspect of robotics has provided me an opportunity to prove myself,” Stephen Decatur High School Rising Senior Chase Ponton said.

“It’s very important for our kids to start that love for STEM early, so we can kind of watch them through middle school and continue cultivating that love through high school. Once they make their choice for college, they’re making those in STEM,” Scholars 4 STEM Executive Director Nicole Turner said.

Turner tells 47ABC initiatives like this could also help fill gaps in the workforce nationwide and right here at home. “Scholars 4 STEM is about helping the eastern shore workforce. It’s about growing our own and making sure students here on the shore are equipped with the skills they need,” Turner said.

All the exploration already has Jaxon thinking about what’s next. “I’m thinking of something like a technical engineer or a mechanical engineer,” Moore said.

Scholars 4 STEM tells us the event couldn’t have been possible without its strong support from various sponsors.

Kids who attended also got the opportunity to receive free school supplies.