Freshmen attended the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Summit hosted by Junior Achievement on Friday, February 21.
The event started with a presentation by Tom Russell, president of the Junior Achievement of South Central Pennsylvania, in the auditorium.
The day was intended to “expose you to some jobs and opportunities you may have never known existed,” said Russell in a speech to the ninth grade class. “The goal is to find something you like.”
Despite the enthusiasm of Russell and the teachers organizing the event, most students seemed apprehensive at the beginning of the day.
Freshman Alex Ullery watched the opening presentation with excitement.
“I’m one of ten excited people here,” said Ullery. “I’m hoping today can guide me toward a career.”
Photo by Jake Smith.
Students then filed into the gym, partitioned into six sections for different types of work. Half of the gym was transformed into a relay, with the other half separated into workshops titled: electrical, foam/polymers, wind/air, the marshmallow challenge, and hydraulics/pneumatics. Each presentation was given by professionals who volunteered to teach students about science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Junior Kayla Pringle, a student council member, volunteered with a few others at the summit. They spent most of the day at the relay station.
“The whole event seemed very organized and interesting,” Pringle said.
Photo by Jake Smith
After the first workshop, the freshmen were beginning to enjoy the day. Students worked with professionals in each of the categories, completing a task at each station. Most of the students seemed genuinely happy to be participating.
Freshman Kali Sajko was starting to enjoy the day around the time she got to her third workshop. “[The stations] were actually interesting. The relay was my favorite,” she said.
The two crowd favorites were the foam station and the relay. Students got to fill a glove with chemicals and form a hand with volunteers at the foam/polymer stop. At the relay, teams raced to put on HazMat suits, shoot paper airplanes through hoops, and walk across eggs.
Photo by Jake Smith.
Math teacher Kori Eisenhart spent Friday as a teacher chaperone at the summit.
“This event is giving students exposure to opportunities that they would never see in the classroom,” Eisenhart explained. “They were actively engaged in the learning experiences.”
By the end of the day, students were clearly having fun in all the stations. Based on the positive reviews and the amount of foam hands going home that day, the STEM summit was a resounding success. The program is expected to return next year.
Photo by Jake Smith.
