That's right, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, will serve as California's After-School STEM Ambassador for the next year, promoting the importance of STEM subjects."If America is to maintain our high standard of living, we must continue to innovate," Abdul-Jabbar said in a statement published by Education Week. "We are competing with nations many times our size, and STEM learning represents the engines of innovation. With these engines, we can lead the world, because knowledge is real power."
In his new role of After-School STEM Ambassador, the NBA great will make appearances at after-school programs around California to promote STEM education. This will be just another effort on Abdul-Jabbar's part, who has invested a considerable amount of time promoting STEM education the past few years. Through his Skyhook Foundation, Abdul-Jabbar has been actively pushing the importance of STEM education and STEM-related fields.
Abdul-Jabbar was spotted at the U.S. News and World Report's STEM Conference in Dallas earlier this summer pointing out the cultural shift that's necessary to make STEM jobs more attractive to younger generations - especially those in lower-income communities.
Abdul-Jabbar's role as STEM ambassador in California could take on a particularly high importance in turning around the state's high-quality science instruction. We'll have to stay tuned to see how it goes!
Read more about Abdul Jabbar's involvement in STEM education here.
