Savannah River Nuclear Solutions (SRNS) has recently launched “STEM Pals” program to help the community learn about the STEM field and to connect the community with STEM professionals. This program will also help students learn about new opportunities in the STEM fields.
“STEM Pals,” formerly known as “STEMulating Conversations with SRS Experts,” is a yearlong letter writing program with five schools in Aiken County. The program was recently revamped in January and has connected 12 Savannah River Site (SRS) professionals with over 200 students.
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“The ‘STEM Pals’ initiative allows elementary and middle school student to ‘pick the brain’ of expert scientists and engineers,” said Cindy Hewitt, SRNS Education Outreach Specialist. “Exchanges happen pretty rapidly with one letter shared each week between SRS and participating schools.”
Teachers begin the writing process by helping students draft a letter with questions on SRS careers and STEM-related topics.
Jackson STEAM Middle School recently met their SRS professional face-to-face after months of letter exchanges.
“My favorite part of the experience was reading the unique and thoughtful questions from each student,” said Allison Flatt, SRNS Mechanical Systems Engineer. “I am not here to make every student an engineer but to inspire students to pursue higher education opportunities and find their true passion. I loved describing my role as a female engineer at SRS and getting to know each class on a personal level.”
Jennifer McMillian, a Jackson STEAM Middle School teacher, was amazed how quickly her class loved the “STEM Pals” program.
“My students have anxiously awaited the opportunity to meet their pals after corresponding since January on different STEM topics,” said McMillian. “It is a great way to incorporate writing into our curriculum while getting to know real experts in the scientific community.”
Letter topics can lead to classroom lectures, studies, field trips, and local STEM opportunities.
“This opportunity has furthered our classroom discussions,” said McMillian. “We’ve been able to respond to our ‘STEM Pals’ with class pictures and descriptions of our activities covering invertebrates, snap circuits, and watersheds.”
Zoe Marshall, a sixth grade student at Jackson STEM Middle School, has benefitted from communicating with “STEM Pals” Victoria Ibarra and Anthony “Tony” Holm about career opportunities at SRNS.
“Reading each letter from Victoria and Tony was something I looked forward to every Friday,” said Marshall. “It brought our entire class together as we learned each other’s interests and perspectives. I would love the chance to continue this ‘STEM Pals’ relationship in the future.”
“We hope to inspire our students in the community by exposing them to the unique careers available at SRS,” said Hewitt. “Our ‘STEM Pals’ initiative makes it easy for our employees to volunteer and broaden students’ scope of career possibilities as they advance through school.”
