WCU hosts second annual STEM event for WNC students
By Julia Duvall
Western Carolina University recently held its second annual STEM Outreach Day for students from around Western North Carolina.
More than 600 students, ranging from 5th to 12th grade, along with 25 teachers from 14 regional schools, spent the day at Apodaca Science Building exploring STEM fields and taking part in activities and presentations from WCU faculty.
STEM is an umbrella term for science, technology, engineering and mathematics, all disciplines that are important to helping students develop skills to gather and evaluate data, make sense of information and problem solve.
“This year’s event had double the number of participants from last year, surpassing the North Carolina Region 8 Science and Engineering Fair, which is the largest STEM event in WNC and also held at Western,” said Frank Forcino, science education director and associate professor in the Department of Geosciences and Natural Resources. “The goal of this event is to allow the students and teachers to take part in all the amazing STEM research here and give them inspiration to make STEM a larger part of their lives.”
More than 30 faculty members from the College of Arts and Sciences, the College of Education and Allied Professions and the College of Engineering and Technology worked together to make this event memorable for students and promote the different STEM fields.
"As a college, we are committed to fostering STEM learning for our students and for K-12 students throughout the region, said Dave Kinner, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. “We do this through the regional science fair and through our STEM Day. We hope that by visiting our new Apodaca building and meeting with our professors that the visiting students can imagine themselves as scientists, engineers and mathematicians.”
Kinner is hopeful that the visit to WCU made an impact on the students and their future.
“We hope that K-12 students in our region understand that WCU is a great place where they can come to learn these different disciplines when they make their college choice,” he said. “I am grateful to our faculty and staff for supporting this effort."
