Emma Benjaminson did not have a lot of exposure to engineering as a child. Her parents were both civil servants, so most of her knowledge of the work of an engineer came from the hit TV show “Star Trek: The Next Generation.”
“Geordi La Forge [chief engineer of the USS Enterprise] was my idol. I just wanted to be the person who could walk into a star ship and turn it on, get it to work and fix everything,” said Emma.
While Emma only had “Star Trek,” the students she expects to find along her more than two month biking tour across the United States as part of Spokes America will have the opportunity to actually meet and learn from real-life engineers. Emma and six other college engineering students from MIT, Harvard and Columbia University will spend time with students who live in rural or low-income areas. This is the second year college students have taken part in Spokes America, with the goal of sharing the enthusiasm they have for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) and encourage self-driven, curious and creative learning. At each of the 10 stops, the engineering students will conduct hands-on workshops with middle and high schoolers in the hopes of inspiring the students to take something apart, read about what interests them and experiment until they make a new discovery.
“We are really trying to give them the tools to change their attitudes in such a way that they believe they can solve any problems they encounter,” said Emma.
Each of the seven college students will teach a different workshop. For example, one hour will be spent playing math games, while the next will involve students taking apart different parts of a bike to see how they work, followed by an hour of manufacturing simulation with LEGOs to learn manufacturing techniques. TI has donated BeagleBone Blacks and MSP430 LaunchPads for a workshop about basic computer coding concepts.
“We’re engaging the students to encourage them to be more curious about computer science and engineering, and we’re giving them different critical thinking tools that they can use to think about STEM subjects with confidence,” said Emma.
The seven college students could have driven, taken the train or flown from one city to the next on their education tour – so why bike across the country? For Emma, it’s about how scientists and engineers are perceived in the U.S. She wants students to see them as more than just socially awkward sitcom characters but as real people who are athletic, passionate and interesting. TI sees all of the elements of the bike tour as essential to getting the youth of America interested in STEM careers.
“This program was important for us to sponsor because it brings together three areas that we at TI care a lot about – health & fitness, education and of course engineering innovation,” said Steve Lyle, director of TI university marketing and engineering workforce development. “The fact that these university students care that much about educating the next generation to help them understand how to quickly apply their knowledge is inspiring to me. They are giving their time and a lot of energy to this and I could not be more proud of them.”
“We’re very grateful that TI thinks what we are doing is valuable and there willing to support us. TI is helping the kids who we reach out to, but they are also helping the six people that I am biking with, giving us the confidence to believe that we can do crazy trips like this,” said Emma. “I think TI is creating seven new engineering leaders who are not going to stop here. We’re going to go on and do other, great things.”
And maybe they’ll connect with a kid on their biking trip who will become the next crew member on the USS Enterprise, or even better, the next Spokes America team member.