Teaches middle and high school students about manufacturing jobs
FLORENCE, Ky. (Sept. 10, 2014) — Gateway Community and Technical College will launch a Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) outreach initiative to students, parents and educators beginning Sept. 19 and running through May 2015.
Gateway’s STEM initiative is designed to raise awareness among students, parents and educators of local career opportunities in STEM fields, particularly advanced manufacturing.
The program attracted about 300 students from 13 schools in its first year in 2012 and 600 students from 18 schools last year.
STEM Days bring groups of middle and high school students to Gateway’s Boone Campus for a half-day tour of the college’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing and a chance to participate in hands-on activities and hear about training available for six manufacturing disciplines. Then it’s off to a manufacturing facility to see the “real-world” in action.
“Unfortunately, the public often perceives manufacturing as dirty, dangerous and dead-end. Nothing could be further from the truth,” said Gateway President/CEO Ed Hughes. “The Gateway STEM experience will give students, their parents and their teachers a chance to interact with manufacturers and tour manufacturing facilities for an up-close look at what today’s advanced manufacturing careers are really like,” Hughes added.
The STEM outreach program was developed by Gateway in collaboration with Northern Kentucky public school administrators and members of the region’s manufacturing community. The Cincinnati STEM Collaborative assists with funding.
“STEM Days are very helpful for our students, educators and parents,” said Teri Brown, director of College and Career Readiness for Kenton County Schools and a member of the STEM Days development team. “STEM Days give students a chance to learn about challenging, fun, good-paying careers right here in our area. It helps them understand the options available to them to get a technical education, maybe even find a job that can finance their education, and then after they complete a credential at Gateway, move up the career ladder. They learn advanced manufacturing offers them a career, not just a job.”
The 2014-15 STEM event calendar includes 12 STEM Days for students, four STEM evenings for parents and a daylong professional development STEM experience for educators.
For more information on STEM Days and advanced manufacturing as a career, contact [email protected] or call her at 859-815-7687.
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