2008 Woodie Awards
University seeks to raise tech interest
College and high school students encouraged to get into science fields
Blake Savadow
Special | 11/9/08
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Science and Technology Day was used to inspire high school and community college students who have an interest in attending a four-year university to seek higher education.
Students explored the possibilities of science, technology, engineering and mathematics majors, careers available and why they are important to the Baltimore region and the county.
A panel of experts in STEM education gave presentations exploring careers in biosciences, education, research, engineering and space travel for students.
Debbie Phelps, mother of 2008 Olympic gold medalist Michael Phelps, was a panelist for the discussion. She is the principal of Windsor Mill Middle School in Baltimore.
Nancy Grasmick, state superintendent for schools for the Maryland Department of Education was also on the panel, as well as representatives from Baltimore City Community College and University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute.
More than 450 college and high school students attended the event.
"Most of the guidance counselors and the teachers did the convincing part, we just called them and asked them if they wanted to be involved," Annie McMahon, Towson opportunities program coordinator, said.
TOPS is a program in STEM that is funded by a grant from the National Science Foundation. The program is designed to recruit and retain students from the Baltimore City area to enroll in technology-based programs.
TOPS provided students with free transportation to the event, paid for by the NSF grant.
Towson President Robert Caret spoke about support for STEM careers and programs. He also talked to students about his own journey of coming from a small town in Maine where people didn't go to college, yet support from high school teachers prompted him to pursue higher education.
Grasmick, who attended Towson, stressed the statistics for future jobs in science, technology and mathematics being low and stressed the fact that high school students are the ones who can raise the statistics.
"If we look at the international workforce we are looking at for instance 3,500 ninth graders. Of those 3,500 ninth graders, about 300 will be college freshmen... 10 of those can earn a math degree and of those, only one will get a Ph.D., almost a prerequisite in this world today for higher positions in the STEM arena," Grasmick said.
Phelps spoke of the importance of bringing STEM into the schoolhouse in elementary and middle schools such as hers. At the event, she met with some former students that attended her school and asked about their lives.
"I wanted to plant some seeds to get them thinking about going out and getting a advisory board within their schoolhouse so that they are able to reach out in there community," she said. "It is so important for them to be able to get into these jobs, science and technology, engineering and math because there is such so much going on now in our country."
Donald A. Thomas, director of the Hackerman Academy of Mathematics and Science at Towson spoke to students about outer space and the future of space travel.
When showing a picture to the audience that illustrated the future of astronauts traveling in the year 2020, he said, "Your generation, you'll be the one to help us get to Mars. This is just one of the things your generation will help us do."
Many students left the event feeling excited to pursue a major in STEM.
Ousmane Toure, a Randallstown High School student, said that it was a useful event to attend because it gave background information so that he can take the right steps to get prepared.
"You can start anywhere and reach your goals but you have to take things step by step," Toure said.
Lab equipment use was given out as door prizes. After the speeches from the advisory board the students were provided with a lunch sponsored by TOPS.
For more information about TOPS students can visit www.towson.edu/tops/tutops/.
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Alaska Cruises
posted 1/02/09 @ 10:21 AM EST
Science is very important and with the new discoveries in the quantum physics field, well, there is a lot fo work to be done. We just need to have bright people that really want to make a difference. (Continued…)
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