Club gives students peek at STEM careers

<p>The students know what classes they need to take to pursue a career in STEM.</p><p>Students interested in a career in a STEM field at Center Grove High School have math and science classes offered to them as part of the curriculum needed to graduate, and students interested in more STEM careers can choose to enroll in Project Lead the Way path to focus on STEM curriculum.</p><p>Two students wanted more information on where those classes could lead once they graduated high school and chose a career path in college.</p>[sc:text-divider text-divider-title="Story continues below gallery" ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery<p>They found an adviser, filled out the paperwork and recruited dozens of students to come to a club meeting that would show students what was possible with STEM careers. The Center Grove High School STEM club was born.</p><p>The club is about two years old and a few dozen students attend the biweekly meetings where they hear from professionals in STEM fields about how they got the job they are doing. Other activities are also planned throughout the year, such as a celebration of Pi Day or March 14.</p><p>“I wanted (the club) to be more of an outlook,” said Michelle Moon, a senior and one of the founders.</p><p>The club started about two years ago when Moon was a sophomore. Moon and the other founder wanted a club that would allow students to have a more hands-on approach to STEM activities and that would allow them to see where a solid STEM foundation could take them for their goals, Moon said.</p><p>Students at Center Grove High School can join a robotics club that concentrates on building a robot and competing with it. Students can also join a math or science academic bowl. But no club existed to allow students to concentrate on multiple facets of STEM and that would allow them to hear from professionals in those fields.</p><p>“I just wanted a club for students with similar interests who could interact,” Moon said.</p><p>Around 60 students attended that first meeting two years ago. Attendance today fluctuates depending on other school activities, but, organizers can typically count on a few dozen students to attend each meeting Moon said.</p><p>The club has had strong attendance because students want to pursue STEM careers and they want to know what they need to do to get themselves to those careers, Amy Winger, the club’s adviser said.</p><p>“It’s the fields they want to go on to,” said Winger. “Kids are into technology, which leads to other possibilities.”</p><p>One of the main goals of the club is to allow students to see what possibilities await them if they pursue STEM. Guest speakers have included a genetic counselor, chemists and engineers. They tell club members what path they took to land in their careers, what classes they need to take in college and they tell students a STEM field is typically difficult academically, she said.</p><p>“They do jobs people haven’t heard of, that was the goal too,” Winger said. “It’s putting it in real time for the kids.”</p><p>Committees made up of students for each STEM field, math, science, technology and engineering, help plan the activities from week to week to make sure every STEM field is covered, Moon said.</p><p>Club members have also taken virtual tours of colleges outside of Indiana to get an idea of what STEM programming is offered outside the state. And the enthusiasm for a club that offers these experiences is part of the idea that more students want a job in those fields, Caitlin Hubbs, a senior and vice president of the club, said.</p><p>“The jobs they are wanting to do and their interests are STEM related,” she said. “We are realizing that and wanting to be involved.”</p><p>STEM has been a buzz word in classes for a few years and the careers that come out of STEM work are jobs that students today are wanting to fill, Winger said.</p><p>“All of our teachers in all of our classes are talking about (STEM) everyday,” Hubbs said. “We want to let people know there are awesome jobs.”</p>