STEM summer programs encourage youth across Maryland
STEM Summer Programs
MARYLAND – Students are reaching for the stars, STEM STARS that is. The University of Maryland Eastern Shore’s summer cohort aims to remove barriers in the STEM learning environment. Their mission is to encourage underrepresented groups to pursue careers in STEM, and whether it’s biology or Breadboards these students are being “STEMulated” this summer.
STEM STARS
“People of Color have been underrepresented in the STEM disciplines, and without that diversity in stem, we’ve found that some of the problems that affect people of Color have never been solved.” And without a diverse group of ideas, coming from a diverse background, the field will be at a standstill according to Dr. Tiara Cornelius Executive. Director of the UMES Stem Stars Program. She says that this program isn’t just for the current students, but the future generations. “By increasing the number of students of color in the field not only will we have students of color who can replace us, as we retire, those of us in academia, many of our students have said they want professors who look like them.”
Taurie Grant is a 16-year-old incoming freshman from Manhattan, New York, and says why she chose UMES. “Well, it is an HBCU which my mom thought would be better for me than a PWI. It’s not in New York because I want to go into veterinary medicine and the only animals, we have in New Youk are like pigeons and rats. So, we needed, I needed more variety.”
Dr. Cornelius says the program also includes prep for math classes and other fields. “Since they are STEM Major, most of them will have to take calculus. Because of the pandemic, more students, no matter how academically talented they are, coming to college under prepared for math… They are also working on a discovery science program where they’re working with Arduinos, looking at data analytics, learning how to program in engineering language.”
Biology piqued the interest of 16-year-old Aquila Pelky, who graduated in 3 years from High Point High in Beltsville. She says she wanted to see where she would be for the next 4 years. “I’m interested in going in biology. Biology, Pre-dental specifically because my future career resides in dentistry. I want to be a pediatric, or maybe an orthodontics or surgery. Somewhere in there.”
Adrian Harrison is an 18-year-old incoming freshman from Kentucky. He says he had great role models in his life, and the black male pilots in his life inspired him to get into the field “It’s not a very diverse field, it’s a small population of black male pilots, So I definitely wanted to be like a model to the youth to show them that Black people can also be pilots, and represent for my community”
Dr. Cornelius says this is only year 2 of the 5-week cohort, and they are excited to see how it will expand next year. UMES continues to encourage students to be the change they wish to see, by taking space in fields that are under-represented in your own community
The Newton Community Center
The University of Maryland Eastern Shore aren’t the only ones encouraging youth to pursue STEM fields. The Newton Community Center in Salisbury is also offering STEM as one of their many parts to their summer camp.
Logan Dillon, the Community Program Coordinator, says it’s exciting the center can offer this to the community. They were awarded a $30,000 grant from the Ripken Foundation, allowing them to expand in STEM. Students ages 8-18 can come experience architecture, engineering or coding.
Dillon says this say inspire some to seek out STEM careers but if not, it can just be a fun hobby. “We have our Sphero Indi which is robot cars, we have electrical circuits, they’re working with B-bots which is coding, so they have to do every single direction on it… It a really great experience for them to learn this stuff that they might not be able to get in other places.”
The Newton Center wants the community to know their programs are FREE & activities are available throughout the year after school Monday through Friday from 3:30 pm until 6:00 pm.
