Ten STARS (Students & Technology in Academia, Research & Service) students were joined by a STARS alumna as they visited Killearn Lakes Elementary School’s Fall Festival on October 19th to volunteer and contribute their service by tabling stations to bring more attention to the world of technology. The event attendance exceeded 800 kids and parents.

“STEM engagement starts early – getting your college students to interact with and talk with young kids helps inspire the next generation of tech leaders; we know that early exposure to STEM correlates with long term academic success,” shared CCI Associate Dean Ebe Randeree. “As part of the College’s community engagement, we are always in the Tallahassee area working with our community partners to educate and serve.”

This year they were joined by Ruvos, a local company whose leadership has shown a strong commitment to improving local education.  Aya Saludo, an FSU alumna, represented Ruvos and shared how the company performs data integration, cloud computing, cyber security, data intelligence and analytics services for public health and healthcare.

Parent-teacher organization (PTO) president Ressa Tomkiewicz shared, “We were thrilled to have FSU CCI once again participate in the Fall Festival. They are one of our favorite community partners and make learning fun and accessible for all our students. Their engaging activities — like a table with landmark inventions that paved the way for today’s technology — inspire curiosity and ignite a passion for learning in our students.”

STARS hosted five tables with hands on displays and giveaways engaging attendees in experiences that inspire them to explore tech careers.

• “Across the Printiverse” displayed an array of 3D printed objects from FSU’s Innovation Hub to show students the endless possibilities of 3D printing.
• The “Blast from the Past” table created hands-on learning about the history of technology through a display of older cell phones, floppy disks, hard drives, and other technology.
• The “Arduino Farm” showcased single-board microcontrollers and microcontroller kits for building digital devices.
• Women Leaders in STEM showcased famous women who have made significant contributions to science and technology.
• “Grow your Food” (with supplies provided by a local business — Farming the Future — showcased seeds, encouraged home grown food, and had students solve a Plant Life Cycle puzzle.

ICT student Ruthie McNeil said, “I had a wonderful experience at the at the Killearn Lakes STEM Day. My table focused on teaching children about plants, featured a plant life cycle chart activity, a mini garden where children could plant celery, and seeds for them to take home. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of children who showed a genuine interest in learning.”

“I had an absolute blast meeting the kids and their families, and teaching them about women in STEM,” ICT student Ninah Gibson said. “It felt so awesome to serve the community and hopefully we inspired some of the kids to pursue technology in the future. Perhaps STEM Day will show other Black and Brown girls like me that not only they could do it too, but there are also girls like them represented in the field doing amazing things!”

ICT student Ashari Penerton said, “My experience at Killearn Lakes truly reinforced my love for teaching kids about STEM topics. I love instilling the idea that they are capable of anything. With it being my second year attending, I felt more confident in interacting with the kids and I felt more inclined to make them feel more comfortable opening up about their ideas.  As the current President of Connecting Girls to STEM, it’s events like these that make me love what I do at FSU. A special thank you to Ebe Randeree, someone that mentors and pushes me to do things I think are impossible!’

Thank you to all of the volunteers: Andrea Colon-De-Feria, Tanushree Dhage, Ninah Gibson, Owen Van Lenten, Ruthie McNeil, Ashari Penerton, Betty Phipps, Orion Qualls, Jai Reed, Aya Saludo, and Olivia Watson.