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Academic programming in science and technology shapes the young mind in ways that can allow a young adult to gain confidence, skills, and the intellect required to convert academic experience into a meaningful and rewarding career. However, we know that the social pressure and extracurricular activity of high school distracts most students from taking an authentic interest in STEM programming in ways that lead to a career after high school. By the time students reach high school, they're usually too cool for school, and it can be too late for them to latch on firmly to science and technology subjects deeply enough to plan a career in those subjects or orient their post-secondary education toward STEM after graduation,
We know that the key is to get to students early. STEM-related youth programming in elementary and middle school can plant seeds inside the hearts and minds of students, so that when they wake up in the last years or months of high school and begin to think about "what's next," they have already been introduced to STEM careers and understand what is possible for them,
An example of STEM experiential learning has been alive in Norfolk, VA for the past several years at the Aviation Institute of Maintenance (AIM). AIM is the largest educator of FAA-certified aircraft mechanics in the world. AIM graduates take the Federal Aviation Administration exams necessary to obtain their mechanic's certificate with ratings in both Airframe and Powerplant. AIM operates campuses in Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, New York, Philadelphia, Dallas, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Washington, DC, Kansas City, San Francisco Bay, Orlando, and its flagship campus in Norfolk, VA. AIM is responsible for over 23% of all certified aircraft technicians in America each year,
This summer, AIM offered its 5th Annual Fly Norfolk Jet Camp at its Norfolk campus on East Little Creek Rd. Sixteen middle school students from Norfolk Public Schools'...