ACEC/MA STEM Task Force DEI Forum on STEM Outreach opportunities - Real Success Stories You Can Use

ACEC/MA STEM Task Force & DEI Forum Presentation on STEM Outreach Opportunities - Real Success Stories You Can Use

• Get ready for the next school year by planning some STEM Outreach activities with local schools and K-12 students
• Learn about some options that firms are using successfully to interest K-12 students in engineering and related careers

Speakers will include:

• Sam Taugher is a Project Engineer with Tighe & Bond for over 7 years. Sam is the current co-chair for the ACEC/MA STEM Task Force and has been for the past three years. Sam Taugher volunteers frequently with Mass STEM HUB who provides access and support to applied learning and STEM education through best-in-class programs, authentic industry engagement, and dedicated educator supports. Mass STEM HUB’s Applied Learning Showcase and Industry Connect events allow industry professionals to interact with students of all ages, both in person and remote, to demonstrate what how what is learned in their classroom is used to solve real world problems. Mass STEM HUB facilitates volunteer efforts of industry professionals by providing a use friendly and effective structure to provide feedback to students of all ages. 
   
  https://mass-stemhub.org/volunteer-opportunities/

• Sarah Kim is a Structural Engineering Specialist with STV for over two years. She is a co-chair of the Transportation YOU (TYOU) committee for WTS-Boston. The Boston Chapter’s TYOU Committee participates in, develops, and supports a year-round program of STEM events for girls in grades K-12. Through the program, TYOU committees around the country work to make a difference in the lives of young girls by offering programs and activities that will spark their interest in all modes of transportation and encourage them to take courses in math, science, and technology, which are the stepping stones to exciting careers that can change the face of the transportation industry. Our committee members regularly plan and attend various STEM activities in Massachusetts throughout the year and hold an annual one day event in the fall called the Transportation YOU Boston Summit.

• Sasha Vinton is a Structural Engineer with RND Consultants. She has volunteered with many STEM organizations in the past including the DIGITS program, a statewide program offered free to middle schools to increase 6th graders’ interest in STEM and STEM careers, Women’s Build for Habitat for Humanity, and the Worcester Public Schools Innovation Pathways program. Inspired by all of these volunteering opportunities but lacking local options, Sasha and local colleagues are using ACEC’s resources to start a local STEM program in Medway, MA. Sasha’s next steps will be meeting with PTO and the School Principle to propose a STEM program, introduce activities and suggest a schedule for classroom visits. 
   
  https://www.acecma.org/about/stem

• Reed Brockman is a Senior Structural Engineer and Vice President with AECOM. The primary organization with whom he volunteers is the Boston Society of Civil Engineers Section (BSCES).  Reed got involved with BSCES in 1998 and American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) in 2002.  While the Model Bridge Contest was already being run by the BSCES Infrastructure Group for an organization called MassPEP, Reed got involved in 2002 and started up an online bridge contest at the same time.  Reed also came to know Lisa Freed and the New England Regional Future City Competition around the same time and started helping out independent from BSCES activities. Around 2008, there was so much K-12 outreach going on that the BSCES formed the Public Awareness and Outreach Committee.  These are the activities the committee undertook:
• The BSCES Model Bridge Contest (expanded from just Boston area high schools to all schools / after-school programs grades 5-12)
• The New England Regional Future City Competition (all New England schools / after-school programs grades 6-8)
• Boston Bridge Tours
• The Ralph Salvucci Online Bridge Design Contest, using the West Point Bridge Design program
• "Civil Engineering Today" TV show once per month on BNN-TV (returning after a hiatus during COVID, video with the West Point Bridge Design program soon!)

Resources available to all ACEC/MA members:

ACEC/MA Classroom Visit Presentation Module For You: For Classroom Visits to Promote #STEM Careers

• Download Presentation Module in PPT  - this is a large powerpoint file you can modify for in-person or virtual visits. NOTE: this opens a powerpoint file that you can download; it may appear at the bottom of your screen.
• Presenter Training Module to accompany the classroom presentation PowerPoint for Engineers Who Visit Classrooms K-12
• Introductory Video about how to use these tools from ACEC/MA Leadership Education Committee's Joanne Linowes [Linowes Executive Development Institute, LLC (LXDi)] and Wing C. Wong, PE [Kimley-Horn and Associates, Inc.]
• If anyone needs assistance using the module, the ACEC/MA Leadership Education Committee (LEC)  would gladly offer training in use of the module. Contact Us to Request This.

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This meeting is open to employees of ACEC/MA Member Firms.
If your firm is an ACEC/MA member, YOU are an ACEC/MA member.

• For virtual meeting connection information for this session, contact: ACEC/MA  or call 617-227-5551. 
• If you are with an ACEC/MA Member Firm, Join this Committee/Forum HERE.  
• ACEC/MA Committees/Forums are open to all employees of ACEC/MA Member Firms, even if you are located in another state.
• ACEC/MA Membership Questions? Contact us: ACEC/MA or call 617-227-5551.