Imagine Your STEM Future

Just last week, the Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) announced Imagine Your STEM Future, a national activity series designed to engage high school girls in and inspire them toward careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). Can I get a whoo-yeah!

As stated by PR Newswire, the activity series consists of four flexible units the pique girls' interest in STEM career and helps them begin to match their interests and skills with jobs in high-demand sectors. The new program will be open for schools or other hosting sites to have in place in just a couple of weeks as girls return to school.

The four core units of Imagine Your STEM Future can be delivered over four to eight activity-filled sessions and even has additional extensions and online activities. In the core program, girls:

• team up to do STEM experiments,
• learn about and meet female scientists who can serve as role models,
• explore STEM careers and how scientists make the world a better place, 
• conduct STEM activities alongside their peers,
• learn to serve as leaders to help out other girls get involved in STEM.

Another perk of this program is that girls can do all of the STEM experiments in the core program units with objects from their everyday life and the guidance of books. This makes the program easily accessible to all high school girls!

Imagine Your STEM Future has already been piloted with more than 6,000 undeserved teenage girls across the U.S., with positive results. It should be interesting to see how the program does on a larger scale this fall, but it looks like it'll have no trouble continuing to positively affect girls' perspective on STEM.

For more information and to check out statements from GSUSA chief executive officer, Maria Chavez, read the entire PR Newswire report.

Thermo Fisher on Board with The Pittsburgh Promise

Just yesterday, PR Newswire reported that Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. has made a $1 million commitment to The Pittsburgh Promise Scholarship Fund. The significant gift from the world leader in serving science also creates a designated scholarship fund called the Thermo Fisher Scientific Scholars of The Pittsburgh Promise. So, what does it all really mean? Each year, the fund will support five high performing student scholars with whom Thermo Fisher will develop and maintain a relationship with while the students complete their STEM related education. The main goal: a career in the science discipline upon graduation.

This is another victory for the science world and it's becoming more common to see gifts this large recently. In fact, Thermo Fisher is now among six corporations that have committed $1 million or more to The Promise's Executive Scholars program. The program prides itself on personalized student development that begins when a student is in high school and continues until they walk the stage with their college degree. Even better, students in the program have the chance to build professional networks and connections in the Pittsburgh region throughout college.

I know what you're thinking: how do you get selected as a Thermo Fisher Scientific Scholar of the Pittsburgh Promise? Well, the criteria is pretty straight forward there. A student must have high academic performace (3.5 GPA or higher), advanced placement achievement in STEM fields, commitment to volunteer service, demonstrated leadership skills and a reference from the high school principal. 

Read more about Thermo Fisher's involvement in the program and check out what Marc Casper, President and CEO of the company had to say in Tommy Cornelis' report.