Full Article:
https://www.nwesd.org/news/stem-like-me-meridian/
On April 9, more than 200 seventh and eighth graders at Meridian Middle School explored careers through a program called STEM Like ME! Career Connect NW, hosted at the NWESD 189, scheduled eleven employers and presenters to engage small groups of students in hands-on activities to learn more about family-wage, high-demand career paths in the region. Each student engaged in three 10-minute sessions to learn about a variety of careers including information technology, computer science, human-centered design, advanced manufacturing, healthcare, environmental sciences, and maritime apprenticeships.
Some activities included:
Drawing artificial blood from mannequin arms and tourniquet tying to learn about phlebotomy and medical assisting careers
Tying nautical knots with Northwest Maritime Apprenticeships
Designing a “1000-floor elevator” with human-centered design in mind
Education Stations: Matching wages, education programs, and job titles with
Northwest Career & Technical Academy
; matching game with nursing and dental hygiene prerequisites with college quarters with
Students enjoyed the hands-on activities and were able to understand more about these careers. In a post-event survey, 75% of student survey respondents indicated that their knowledge of STEM careers and pathways increased, and 44% of student survey respondents indicated an increase in their interest toward pursuing a career in a STEM field after participating in this event. The best student comment? “That was the best class ever!”
Robert Kratzig, assistant principal at Meridian Middle School, said, “We really appreciate the organization of this event – everything went so smoothly.”
Frank McGowan, a science teacher at the school, had five classes participate in the event. He said, “I want to send my appreciation for the STEM Like ME! Day. It was great to have so many different professionals come through MMS and share their experiences with our students. They walked into class on Wednesday [the next day following the event] asking what would be the day’s STEM rotations.”
Deb Granger with the Northwest Maritime Apprenticeship Training Program said how respectful, attentive, and engaged students were at her STEM station: “They were really good at following the directions of the diagrams explaining how to tie a few of the nautical knots. I have shared this positive feedback with many of my colleagues and friends. It was so refreshing and encouraging!”
Granger also commented on the event itself, stating, “The CCW Team produced a VERY well-organized event. All of the comprehensive planning that went into the day paid off. The teachers, staff, students – everyone knew what to expect and it all flowed beautifully.”
A big thank you to the organizations who provided presentations.
Presentations were provided by:
BP Refinery, Cherry Point, Engineering – Expand the Marshmallow activity
Whatcom Community College (WCC), Medical Assisting/Healthcare – Phlebotomy and tourniquet tying on mannequin arms – Can You Draw the Blood?
Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association/Environmental Sciences
Whatcom Working Waterfront/NW Maritime Apprenticeships – Knot tying
Northwest Career and Technical Academy – Match the job, wage, and education program game
Whatcom Community College (WCC), Physical Therapist Assistant – Obstacle Course
Skagit Valley College (SVC), Computer Science – Artificial Intelligence Trivia Game
Innotech Metals, Advanced Manufacturing – Product Portfolio Share + Virtual Production Space for Advanced Manufacturing Video
Career Connect NW, Pathways to Healthcare Careers – Match the Nursing and Dental Hygiene Pre-Reqs to the College Quarter Game
VARVID Tech, IT Careers – How to Live Stream
1000-Floor Elevator: Human Centered Design In Technology – How to Create an Elevator System with 1000 Floors – Build Your Own
STEM Like ME! event statistics snapshot:
Regional Participation
Length of event:
1 school day; April 9, 2024, from 8:40 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
School represented:
Meridian Middle School
Grades Represented:
Served all seventh
and eight
grade students present on that date
Number of students that participated
: 213
Student Evaluations
Number of student event evaluations received
: 213 (total student count in these grades is 242)
Knowledge gained and future interest in STEM careers:
75.4% of student survey respondents indicated that their knowledge of STEM careers and pathways increased.
Of those students who indicated that their knowledge of STEM careers and pathways increased, 51.9% indicated an increase of 2 points or more when surveyed using a 7-point scale.
44.2% of student survey respondents indicated an increase in their interest toward pursuing a career in a STEM field after participating in this event.
Student Demographics
37.1% of students identified as BIPOC
17.8% identified as Hispanic
2.3% American Indian/Alaska Native
17.4% Mixed Race
1.4% African American/Black
5.2% Asian
46.5% of the students surveyed identify as male
49.9% of the students surveyed identify as female
2.3% of the students surveyed indicated “other/prefer not to provide this information”
Ages of attendees included:
18.8% were 12-years-old
44.6% were 13-years-old
33.3% were 14-years-old
1.9% were 15-years-old
For more information about this STEM Like ME! event, please contact Mary Powers (mpowers@nwesd.org), a representative of the Career Connect Northwest (CCNW) team hosted at the NWESD 189.
