New STEM club encourages career-mindedness, independence

“When will we use this?” and “How will this help us in real life?” are common questions often heard by teachers. Students often wonder how a specific unit or lesson applies to their life today. That was why STEM Leaders of Omaha Central was created, to apply what students are learning to their future careers. This new club will meet twice a month and plans to be student led.

STEM may have only become well-known in the last few years, but many argue that it started with the Russian launch of Sputnik. This led to a battle to be the best in the STEM field, where the United States eventually bested the Soviet Union by sending a man to the moon. Later in the 1990s, the acronym of SMET was developed, and later changed to STEM in 2001.

Despite the great future of the STEM field, many students have chosen to look elsewhere for their careers. Fifty-seven percent of high school freshman who originally say they want to work in this field, later lose interest. “I came up with the idea when trying to find a club to join,” co-leader Madison Herchenbach said. “I realized Central did not offer at STEM Club and decided to make it happen.” She leads with freshman Caroline Dillman and have Molly Jensen, Frances Anderson, and Joyelle Anderson as the sponsors.

For the club itself, it is lead entirely by the students. “Members have a huge say in what the focus of the group is,” Herchenbach said. It meets on the first Monday morning of the month from 6:55-7:25 and the third Tuesday afternoon from 3:10-3:40. “We plan on taking field trips when possible and maybe next summer one overseas,” says Frances. They are considering going to Iowa for a tour of their high-tech windmills and having a person who works at google come and speak about the experience working in a technology field.  Their goal for next year is to get more students interested.

All in all, STEM Leaders of Omaha club is up and running. “Students should join this club because it is great way to get involved and realize career options in the STEM field,” said Herchenbach, “And come for the snacks.”.