USNA STEM Hosts Girls Only Workshop

By MC3 Nathan Wilkes

The U.S. Naval Academy’s (USNA) Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) program hosted a “Girls Only STEM Workshop” for middle school-age girls Saturday, Mar. 7, in Rickover and Michaelson Hall.

More than 300 girls from around the region participated in the career forum facilitated by female role models from the Academy.

 “Today we are hosting middle school girls who are interested in STEM majors and exposing them to some of the math and science topics that they could possibly study in high school, college, and later in their careers,” said Midshipman 3rd Class Allison Latham. “This program is a great way to introduce young girls to different STEM subjects in fun ways and teach them that if they study hard and work hard, it will pay off.”

The day-long workshop included hands-on activities in robotics, bioterrorism, aerospace, biometrics, physics and more.

“We really want the students to have exposure to technical fields and STEM topics that they might not be covering in their normal classes,” said Angela Moran, USNA professor of mechanical engineering and STEM Outreach Director. “One of the main goals of the event today is to set these girls up with the tools that they will need to succeed in STEM topics in the future.”

Forty USNA midshipmen and 15 female faculty members helped facilitate the event. Their experience and knowledge helped the girls to learn the topics easily and identify role models in the STEM community.

“We are having a lot of fun and are learning a lot about how STEM can help you with a lot of things,” said Annabelle Sehefer,  a 6th grader from Virginia. “In one of my classes today I learned how to protect my house during a hurricane with the wave machine, which was really fun.

The culminating event of the workshop was an engineering mini-design challenge. Students formed groups to put their creativity to the test to design and develop their own amphibious and aviation vehicles. Once the vehicle is created, each group must use teamwork to overcome certain design obstacles.

“I think the design challenge is a fun way to put together everything that we learned today and it really opens your mind to some things that you can do when you’re older,” said Haley Cordova, a 6th grader from Virginia. “The best part about STEM is that they make the classes very interactive and fun. It makes it easier and more enjoyable to learn.”

“Sometimes a little bit of hard work and tough choices can make the difference in long-term fun and fulfillment with what these girls choose to do with their lives, said Moran. “It sounds pretty serious, but today is the first step for helping these girls to step up their futures and we do it in a creative and fun way.”

This event is sponsored by the Office of Naval Research, the Naval Academy Foundation, the Northrop Grumman Foundation and The Bauer Foundations.

National Society of Black Engineers Hosts Terror Zone Summit

By MIDN 1/C Whitney Morey

President of the USNA National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) 

On October 18th my chapter and I had the opportunity to host the Terror Zone Summit, a mini-conference open to all members from chapters in Maryland and the District of Columbia.

The summit provided members with a variety of workshops, a lunch-and-learn session, community service, and networking opportunities to the local membership. Though our collegiate chapter has been active since the early 2000s, this was the first chance that our Naval Academy chapter has had the opportunity to truly showcase our school, Navy careers, and most importantly, our community outreach. 

Members arrived at the conference from the University of Pittsburgh, University of Maryland-College Park, and University of Maryland-Baltimore County, as well as the Potomac, Southern, and Baltimore professional chapters. The summit commenced with an opening session, detailing allowing members to introduce themselves.

The first sessions began separating the junior members from the collegiate and professionals.  The junior members were engaged and very interested in their College 101 session where collegiate members paired with junior members to provide advice on what to expect in college, the college application process, the pursuit of STEM majors, and participation in NSBE while in college in order to receive the support and mentorship to succeed and excel in their majors. 

Meanwhile, the collegiate students received information from the professional members on chapter empowerment. They discussed how to motivate and energize their respective chapters in order to decrease membership attrition and increase volunteer outreach, conference and convention attendance, and collaboration with other chapters in order to lend support.

Following the morning sessions, we took a break for lunch where I spoke about the community efforts of the Naval Academy, educated attendees on the Naval Academy lifestyle, and provided application information to the NSBE junior members to generate interest in applying.

The afternoon sessions consisted of collegiate and professional panels, as well as a professionals mixer and tours of the Yard.  The middle school-aged students and ninth graders were ecstatic to see the school and learn more about the academy and the opportunities afforded to its students.  While they toured, the high school and collegiate members separated into breakout groups in different classrooms where they were able to learn from the professionals about leadership skills, pursuit of STEM careers, graduate school application and selection, and transition from military to civilian sector jobs.

We ended with a closing session where much positive feedback was shared regarding the summit, including the professionalism of the midshipmen, the well-spoken public speakers who held panels and sessions, the informative tours provided by the midshipman escorts, the close proximity of breakout groups to the main Mahan Hall, and the beauty and organization of the buildings and classrooms.

The summit was an opportunity for the USNA chapter to establish itself to many of the regional chapters. Additionally, we made great networking connections with the professional chapters of Potomac and Southern who work with Naval Sea Systems Command and Naval Air Systems Command as civilian contractors. Overall the event was a great success.