Workshops for Students Interested in S.T.E.M. Careers

Kevin Jordan’s 11-year-old daughter Ania loves to watch science fiction movies, investigative series and crime mysteries. She loves books about how things are made, how life works, and how science is used to understand it.

She once remarked out of the blue that if she had to build a team of crime-solvers, she would choose “Abby,” a forensic scientist on CBS’s “NCIS” series as one of her partners.

To cultivate their daughter’s interest in science and problem-solving, Jordan and his wife started gathering articles, books, DVD's, anything they could find surrounding the fields of engineering, science and technology for children. They started when she was a very young and have continued until today.

“We had collected such a large body of information by that time, and thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be nice if other parents had this sort of information ready to engage their own kids in the fields of math and science?’” said Jordan.

So beginning July 2010, Jordan started a website, STEMcp.com (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math as Career Paths), an online destination for African-American parents and their children to explore science, technology, engineering and math as a possible career path.

“Too often our children are missing out on exciting and emerging career options because they don’t know what they are,” said Jordan.

On Tuesday, February 15th and Wednesday, February 16th, at Brooklyn Technical High School (29 Fort Greene Place at Dekalb Avenue), in honor of Black History Month, STEMcp.com, in conjunction with BOSS (black organization of student strength), will host a two-day workshop to introduce high school students and their parents to S.T.E.M. career options. The workshops will be held in the school's library.

African-American leaders across all fields of S.T.E.M. research will serve as the guest speakers. Workshop topics include emerging career opportunities, socio-economic conditions for S.T.E.M. careers, SAT preparation courses and financial planning for college.

“There is so much information in the public domain about drugs and alcohol prevention for our children, but there is not as much talk about S.T.E.M. careers for our audience,” said Jordan “I hope to empower students and parents by giving them a chance  to see others like themselves thriving in their fields and also learn about their career paths from a practical perspective."

Workshop Dates

Tuesday 02/15 - Young Women's Workshop, 3:15 pm

Tuesday 02/15 - Parental Workshop, 6:15 pm

Wednesday 02/16 - Young Men's Workshop, 3:15 pm

Guest Speakers

Dr. Tiffani Bright is a postdoctoral associate with the Department of Community and Family Medicine at Duke University. She received her PhD in biomedical informatics from Columbia University.

Dr. Joseph Towles is a research professor in the Dept. of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation at Northwestern University and a research scientist in the Rehabilitation R&D Service at the Edward Hines Jr. VA Hospital.

Dr. Raj Stewart is a postdoctoral fellow in Developmental Cognitive Neurology and Radiology at Johns Hopkins University's School of Medicine and the Kennedy Krieger Institute.

Dr. Julius Wilder was awarded a Health Policy Certificate from the Duke Sanford Institute of Public Policy and was the first combination MD/PhD in Sociology in the history of Duke University. Currently, he is the assistant chief resident in the Department of Medicine at Duke.