This was a keynote address at a summit unlike any I had done before. Instead of a room full of educators or engineers well into adulthood and their careers, I had to win over 240 of the best and brightest middle school math and science minds from Sarasota County public schools.
At Sarasota County’s STEMsmart Middle School Summit, sponsored and organized by the Gulf Coast Community Foundation, students were encouraged to step out of the classroom into the real world with hands-on, high-tech opportunities to collaborate and compete in design and robotics challenges.
Before we got “hands on” with the TI technology, I shared with the students a little bit about my previous career as a middle school math teacher and how my own son is a seventh grade middle school student who shares many of the same interests they do. More than anything, though, I wanted to stress to the students how their time in middle school can shape their future.
Middle school is a time of exploration – uncovering new areas of study, discovering interests and developing passions. It is the age when students will ultimately take their unique interests and turn them into hobbies, college majors and careers. That’s why I feel so strongly that all students should be exposed to educational opportunities rooted in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) from an early age.
Students need to know that careers in math and science are not only the fastest growing opportunities – they are critical to the health and global economy of our world. The STEM workforce is vital to the success of many industries – technology, healthcare, national security and education, to name a few.
We can certainly validate the importance of this at TI. A strong workforce of engineers and computer programmers is imperative to our ability to continue producing creative and innovative solutions for the world. Because the success of our company and the technology industry depends on the talent of a diverse STEM workforce, we are continually seeking ways to encourage students to unleash their passion for STEM subjects.
We believe diversity fuels innovation, and that’s why for more than 60 years, we have devoted time and money to cultivating the next generation of world changers. In particular, we are passionate about inspiring those groups who are underrepresented in STEM fields – young women, African Americans and Hispanics.
After encouraging all of the students to continue to cultivate their interest in STEM subjects, we broke into small groups with our TI-NspireTM CX graphing calculators. I had the honor of mentoring a team of four bright, out-of-the-box thinkers as we worked together, using TI technology, to create and test a model Orion space capsule.
The students were pros at navigating the technology, because all of them use the TI-Nspire platform on a daily basis in their math and science classrooms. We spent the next several hours developing a space capsule that could withstand extreme heat, as well as a parachute to allow our capsule to descend to Earth at a safe speed. It was no easy feat, but my team tackled it with grit, creativity and determination.
Perhaps what impressed me most about the students was their ability to work together. All four of the students attended different schools and had never met prior to the STEMsmart Summit. But you certainly couldn’t tell. The students dove right into the challenge and quickly picked up on each other’s strengths to work together and complete the challenge. It was such a fun activity that really helped these kids learn by discovery – and hopefully inspired them to want to pursue a career in STEM.
By participating in the STEMsmart Summit, these students were training their minds to create, build and invent. No matter what direction these students choose to go with their careers, whether they research a cure for cancer, invent a new product or design a microchip, they need a strong understanding of math and science. Strong STEM literacy — coupled with the 21st century skills of creativity, problem-solving and collaboration—will help create a brighter future and prepare students to drive innovation and growth in our global economy.
I learned a lot during my time with these kids. I encouraged them to keep working hard and working together to solve challenges that seem impossible. They can be the next Nobel Prize-winning scientist or doctor. They can build the next great automobile or space shuttle. Or they can teach more students to love STEM through education. All of these things can make this world a better place. The sky is the limit.