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Catalyze Challenge
Catalyze Challenge is a national funding initiative committed to helping youth find their purpose through career-connected learning. In Summer 2023, Oregon STEM received $500,000 from Catalyze Challenge to create internship opportunities for rural students. Our grant project, Spark Oregon, worked with ten rural STEM Hubs to create pre-intern training and paid internship positions with 28 local industry partners. The grant also removed any barriers to participation by providing wrap-around services to students so they could be successful in their internships, including paying for transportation, necessary safety equipment, and childcare.
Find out more about Catalyze Challenge, the projects they have funded, and best practices for career-connected learning.
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NW Youth Careers Expo
On March 19, Oregon STEM and STEM Hub leaders gathered at the Northwest Youth Careers Expo, an annual event drawing 6,000 students from over 75 high schools in Oregon and Southwest Washington, along with 200 exhibitors from prominent employers and postsecondary partners.
We observed students engage with industry professionals, participating in activities like using hot sticks at the PGE station to secure nuts and bolts on a demo wire and practicing suturing surgical incisions on bananas at the Providence station. Additionally, Oregon STEM provided personalized support to students, offering one-on-one mock interviews to help them refine their skills. These interactive experiences not only ignited students’ curiosity and passion but also provided valuable insights into various industries and career paths.
Learn more about the annual event, organized by Portland Workforce Alliance, on their website.
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Oregon STEM on “Getting Work to Work” Podcast
Earlier this month, the podcast “Getting Work to Work” invited Oregon STEM onto their show to discuss how and why building a statewide awareness of STEAM education matters. Listen to Deb Mumm-Hill and Kyle Ritchey-Noll talk with podcast host Chris Martin about data-driven decision-making, collaborating with industry partners to help students prepare for careers, and the power of career-connected learning!
Listen to the full podcast episode “Everything is STEM” here.
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The State of Girls in STEM
Every March, Women’s History Month sparks celebrations around the extraordinary contributions made by women. However, amid these celebrations, it’s also important to acknowledge the systemic barriers that prevent their progress in fields like STEAM. The urgency of this matter becomes evident when we examine the data—despite comprising half of the college-educated workforce in the US, women hold only 34% of science and engineering positions, with even fewer Latina, Black, and Indigenous women represented, accounting for less than 10%.
The findings from the National Girls Collaborative Project’s report, “The State of Girls in STEM,” offer actionable insights for building inclusive STEAM pathways. These include prioritizing the amplification of girls’ voices and leveraging existing initiatives rather than starting from scratch. Let’s transform these insights into tangible actions for a more equitable future!
For more in-depth information, read the full report.
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Unlocking Creativity at the Maker and Innovation Learning Lab (MILL)
Career-connected learning emphasizes the importance of hands-on experience. In pursuit of this approach, the Oregon STEM Hub, Mid-Valley STEM CTE Hub, has created The MILL. This maker space enables students to explore, experiment, and apply STEAM concepts, fostering creativity while engaging with gadgets and technology.
Forrest Johnson, the STEM Librarian & Makerspace Coordinator, describes The MILL as a hub for STEAM exploration. “Our makerspace offers hands-on and practical STEAM activities,” he says. “What’s really great is that someone might come into our space because they want to learn more about 3D printing, and once they begin to play with our 3D printer, they realize they are really good at it and all of a sudden, unbeknownst to them they are doing calculus!”
Read about how The MILL is getting students excited about STEAM through creativity and hands-on learning opportunities.
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Columbia County Make ‘N Take
On March 7, the Northwest STEM Hub and Northwest Regional Education Service District hosted the event, Columbia County Make ‘N Take, to give educators an opportunity to engage in multiple activities, including 3D printing, design, vinyl cutting and rapid prototyping. At the end of the day, educators were able to take equipment, provided by Northwest STEM Hub, back to their classrooms.
Chris Hesselbein, director of the Northwest STEM Hub, explained, “The idea here was that we wanted to make sure that teachers had hands-on experience so they feel more confident, they would take home the equipment so they could start using it the next day, and that they could connect with other teachers so that they didn’t feel alone in this journey.”
Read the Columbia County Spotlight article about the event.
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