Learn from industry experts at STEAM week

Lilly Kujawski
Editor

STEM Week is back and this time it brought a friend: art. STEAM Week is coming to campus and along with it, several keynote speakers and panelists in the science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics fields.

“We had something similar called STEM Week last year, but on a smaller scale,” said Susan Dentel, a life sciences teacher and the WCC STEM Scholars coordinator.

STEAM Week will take place across campus from Feb. 3 to 7 and feature themed days and a wide mix of activities, presentations and campus guests representing academic and industry groups.

The main purpose of STEAM Week is to expose students to potential career options and spark interest in the five STEAM disciplines.

Area high school juniors and seniors are invited to participate in the STEAM Week events, too, but Dentel said this shouldn’t deter current WCC students from attending; she said the scheduled activities are meant to be meaningful and engaging for current and soon-to-be college students alike. She added that some of industry visitors scheduled to visit campus could be potential intern and employment connections.

SCHEDULE

General steam day: what’s going on?
Monday, Feb. 3
Keynote presenters: WCC alumna Aisha Bowe, an aerospace engineer and the founder and CEO of STEMboard, and Kimberly Hurns, vice president for instruction at WCC, lead a STEAM challenge workshop together.

Activities: Go on a scavenger hunt and participate in a career carousel.

Computer/information technology
Tuesday, Feb. 4
Keynote presenters: Marlin Williams and Jacob Rickerd lead sessions on automotive cybersecurity.
Activities: Visit with the Merit Network, Python Programming, NovaCast and the Cyber Club and watch an Android demo.

Aerospace, sustainability and construction technologies
Wednesday, Feb. 5
Keynote presenters: Pete Tchoryk and Nathan Ayers present on the theme.
Activities: Watch a presentation from MBridge about its tunnel project in the straits, participate in an interactive workshop from Michigan Aerospace Corp., visit with the Graduate Society of Women Engineers, watch a documentary about bees and tour of the WCC construction technology program.

Healthcare Services
Thursday, Feb. 6
Keynote presenters: Dean of health sciences Valerie Greaves presents about skin cancer.
Biology instructor David Wooten leads an ecology presentation about islands and snakes.
Activities: A glow germs dental hygeine activity, a presentation on chemical and forensic science careers and a nursing simulation tour.

Advanced Transportation and Manufactoring
Friday, Feb. 7
Keynote presenters: Adam Zemke, president of Launch Michigan and Zachyre Van Buren, an automotive engineering technician and former WCC student, lead a presentation. University of Michigan representatives present about the mROVER.
Activities: Participate in a TEN80 race, check out the Polaris Slingshot and watch a documentary about bees.

Activities take place all over campus and location details are available on the day-off. Keynote presentations are 9-9:30 a.m. daily. Registering for events ahead of time is strongly preferred and can be done at wccnet.edu/STEAM-GUEST. Users will be prompted to register for an entire day but can specify the particular time slots they’re interested in attending when they check-in that day.

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