Guided Pathway to STEM

“Our K-12 education system produces enough talent in math and science to fill our need for traditional STEM workers, but more than 75 percent of these students do not enter STEM majors in college.”

–From “STEM,” a report by the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce

What's missing? A guided pathway toward a STEM career. SAME can provide that path.

SAME Guided Pathway for Students and Young Professionals

Based on a 2021 LDP project by Capt Arpan Patel, Branch Chief, Airfield Pavement Evaluation, USAF (Class of 2021), SAME seeks to create a unified strategy that connects its K12 STEM outreach, camps, college outreach, and young professional engagement efforts. The strategy will define the various STEM paths students can take from school to degree to career under SAME’s guidance.

Download Capt. Patel final report

Background

From Building Momentum: Using Guided Pathways to Redesign the Student Experience, published by the Center for Community College Student Engagement:

"Students pathways guide them from their point of entry to attainment of high-quality postsecondary credentials, advancement to further education, and/or careers with value in the labor market. Having a clear end goal is expected to improve persistence."

For 100 years, SAME has been dedicated to patriotism and national security. As we start our second century, we hope members are inspired to further advance these aims of service through building leaders and leading collaboration across the spectrum of our involvement. Through its programs, SAME offers Posts and members the opportunity to help achieve the organization’s mission and vison. Program outcomes present a diversity of impact that ensures the Society endures for the next 100 years.

SAME’s ability to provide programmatic impact depends on an active network of student and professional members, posts, communities of interest, and corporate, government, nonprofit, and academic partners.

Tasks

  • Create a strategy that outlines paths students take from pre-K to career.
  • Overlay SAME-specific outreach activities and programs that reinforce the paths along the way.

1. Define the various paths students can take from Preschool to Professional

3. Create a value argument to transition students to professional

Mentoring

Mentoring is a key tactic in guiding students along their career trajectory. Mentoring also offers an excellent opportunity for leader development by the mentor and the mentee. Led by the mentoring advisory group, SAME is working to connect mentoring opportunities into one strategy.

From camp mentoring to mentoring of LDP participants to engaging with student members and young professionals at SAME national events, SAME is working to advance mentoring across the Society.

 

K-12 STEM Outreach

 

Post-level K12 outreach activities introduce students to the diversity of STEM fields.

 

2. Identify Post-secondary options

Goal 4. Enrich the STEM Pipeline for the Nation

SAME’s Engineering & Construction Camps have an impressive record over 20 years of inspiring high school students to pursue careers in engineering and STEM-related fields—many of whom have gone on to become leaders in our industry. Supported by the SAME Foundation, the Society has developed a program that will help young professionals from the A/E/C community serve as camp mentors. Your donation will enhance these efforts by providing scholarships for camp participants and stipends for mentors.

 

Camps

 

Camps provide intense, hands-on experiences that enhance a student’s problem-solving, team building, and leadership skills.

 

College Outreach

 

College outreach efforts emphasize the importance of students as emerging professionals through scholarships, competitions, student experiences at national conferences, and student chapters.

 

Strategic Impact

By unifying these efforts into one strategy that guides students from STEM awareness to interest to degree to career, SAME can ensure it continues to “enrich the STEM pipeline for the nation in support of Goal 4 of the strategic plan.

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