FT. BELVOIR YOUNG AFCEANS ADVOCATES STEM EDUCATION AT WALT WHITMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL STEM CAREER DAY Ashley Johnson, Contributing Writer for AFCEA Belvoir FT. BELVOIR, VIRGINIA - On Friday, June 7th the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association’s Belvoir Chapter (AFCEA Belvoir) Young AFCEANs participated in a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Career Day Program hosted by Walt Whitman Middle School in Alexandria, VA. Young AFCEANs Belvoir serve the AFCEA Belvoir chapter with the goal of making a unique and positive impact on the local community. These members consist of professional members of the military, government and industry partners who are AF CEA members 40 years old and younger. The Young AFCEANs presented 20-minute STEM presentations to students at Walt Whitman Middle School with the purpose of enlightening the students about the significance of math, technology, science and engineering and how it plays a prominent role in all career fields. “We connected the things they do every day to technology, and used the example of cell phones, social media and gaming in order to spark there attention to the importance of STEM education,” stated Eron Jordan, AFCEA Belvoir, Treasurer. According to Virginia STEM Vital Signs, young people in Virginia will increasingly face stiff competition for jobs from people across the world, and to succeed in the global economy the future of students depends on its ability to boost performance in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). “The earlier student learn and master these skills [STEM], the greater the chances of college acceptance, job security and innovation,” stated Ashley Becker, AFCEA Belvoir VP, Small Business. In the past four years, the AFCEA Belvoir Chapter has been recognized for supporting schools in their surrounding communities in the form of grants, scholarships and technology equipment to support educational growth in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematic programs. “A lot of kids wanted to highlight their interest in sports and the things that they find fun; we let them know, even sports athletes do a couple years in professional football and not all of them get to be sports commentators afterwards. It was good that we highlighted that we provide AFCEA scholarships for students going to college that are merit based not athletic based,” stated Andrew Renken, AFCEA Belvoir, Young AFCEAN. Large percentages of Virginia students say they seldom design science experiments or write reports about science projects. Strategies for addressing this problem include providing professional development and classroom materials to help teachers get their students fully engaged in science, according to Virginia STEM Vital Signs. “Many students at that particular age have to be sparked in the area of science and mathematics, whether it is a cool volcano experiment or 3D printer and AFCEA can provide the means to get that spark,” commented Daniel Shaer, AFCEA Belvoir VP, Young AFCEANs.
Posted on: Fri, 14 Jun 2013 14:01:55 +0000
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