Leadership
The Initiative
The goal of this semester was to inspire high school students in rural, underfunded, and underprivileged areas to pursue degrees in STEM fields by planting a seed of information through fun, interactive presentations by current student STEM organizations at Mississippi State University.
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The rural and underfunded areas of the Golden Triangle are rich with fertile fields and bright young minds filled with creativity. These brilliant students appear in large concentration among the ranks of Starkville Academy or Starkville High; but what of those less fortunate with regards to social status or geographical location? They may spend their entire lives never living up to their full potential. This semester revolves around giving the students within the STEM fields a way to reach out to these students.
Insights
In my "Key Insights", I made mention of my interest on what a child's future might hold. This inquisition is what gives me my passion for rural STEM education. I worry that they won't have someone to encourage them to embrace their curiosity. The only way that I can ensure their light will be kindled is if I do my part. Whether this kid wears a polo or overalls, everyone deserves to chase their dreams. Although I didn't have the best high school, I always had one teacher encouraging me to be an engineer no matter how much I relented. I have never regretted the decision to follow the engineering path, and I want everyone to get this opportunity.
The Solution
The best way to solve the issues at the forefront of my mind was to start a student-led organization to reach into the Starkville Community and give students the persuasion and influence they never recieve. To make this happen, I would need to pair up with people better equipped for the beaurocratic tasks than myself, this is how I met Erin and Darby. In a group of people with similar goals, things would be streamlined very easily. Implementation required contacting tons of students, meeting with organizations on campus, meeting with the Student Organization Council, and calling schools/after school programs. These extensive requirements were major barriers to reaching the goals we wanted to achieve. Once all of these were met, then we needed to have a lesson plan. This was obtained through the established STEMpact program of Vanderbilt University. Finally, we needed the college students to take part in the program.
STEMpact
STEMpact is a student-led organization that allows for collegiates to reach out into the community and provide STEM education to children in the area. Our Capstone idea was to add a division of this program to Mississippi State University.
Did it work?
Reflection
To be successful in this scenario would have been to create this organization and legitimize it. We were able to do that and much more. Through the perseverance of Erin and Darby, we were able to secure several different days at Brickfire as well as a booth at East Webster's science exhibition. Nearly 40 students attended our interest meetings leading up to our visits to Brickfire. They all were able to find a group fitting their schedule and everyone got to help children perform small experiments. Best of all, officers have been elected for the following semester, allowing for self-propagation of our organization. None of these things would have been possible without Erin and Darby, who carried more weight than myself. I want to ensure that they get the proper recognition for all the amazing work they did.
I have learned many valuable lessons looking forward. I understand how important it is to have a team, as it's always more beneficial than going alone. I respect the people of Brickfire more than ever before, as they have so many children and to have any amount of control over them is monumental. I've learned that every community wants the help of the people within it, but they will not always want to meet in the middle, oftentimes requiring you to go the full distance. That doesn't always sound like the most fun, but the chance to change a life for the better is always worth it. I will view all future community service projects with a twinkle, grinning to accept the challenge that awaits. When I first began MLP a year and a half ago, I was not going to be satisfied unless I changed the world. I have since learned that each community is a node of the world. If i change enough nodes for the better, the whole world will benefit.
