Two educators in central New York are getting some hands-on STEM and semiconductor education experiences thanks to an initiative from Micron. The tech company has partnered with Syracuse's Museum of Science and Technology (MOST) to create a fellowship program, which will provide students across central New York with STEM-related programming.
Alexis Williams is a technology education teacher at the North Syracuse Central School District. She said she wants her students to know the impact Micron and its massive computer chip-making facility will have on them.
"To be able to look my students in their face every single day and tell them, 'Look at this great future that you guys are going to be able to make for yourselves. And like you don't have to leave. These jobs are being created right here for you,'" said Williams.
She and other educators are helping build the next generation of STEM and STEAM curriculum with the help of a new Micron Teacher Fellowship at Syracuse’s Museum of Science and Technology. One thing Williams wants students to know is everyone can jump onto the STEAM bandwagon.
"Like me, for example, I was an art student before I got into technology," she said. "And we see how that worked out for me. It worked out very well. So you become this like well-rounded holistic thinker. And those kids who might not have always been math and science types of students actually often times turn out to be some of the best ones that I see."
Making STEM or STEAM programs exciting to students is part of the strategy of building a workforce for the future. Micron expects to create 9,000 jobs, and there will be thousands of others created to support the computer chip company. Brian Heffron leads workforce readiness initiatives at CiTi BOCES and said the fellowship allows him to expand opportunities for students through the interactive "DECONSTRUCTED" exhibit at the MOST, as well as nationwide Micron programs being expanded in the area. Heffron said the programs are aimed at tapping into students' talents that can be translated into the semiconductor industry.
"They want to see people being able, in their own organizations, to be able to look and address a problem from a wide range of different skills and areas," Heffron said. "And I think that's something that STEAM does really well, is sort of getting kids to tap into that creativity, to those other sort of skills that can sort of come up with solutions that are long-lasting."
The $100,000 Micron grant will allow Williams and Heffron to deliver programming to area teachers, as well as support in areas of semiconductor and STEM education throughout the community.
