NC State Juntos Partners with NC A&T for STEM Day
High school students from around the state got to meet faculty, tour a new engineering lab and fly drones through an obstacle course.
In April, 56 high school students and parents from Bladen, Catawba, Wake and Sampson counties traveled to Greensboro, N.C. for 4-H STEM Day, hosted by North Carolina A&T State University in partnership with the NC State Juntos program.
During the event, participants learned about potential majors and careers in the STEM field, met NC A&T faculty and toured the university’s new Center Product Design and Advanced Manufacturing Lab. Students also engaged in a drone coding workshop, where they learned how to operate and code drones and navigated them through an obstacle course.
Misty Blue-Terry, 4-H STEM specialist at NC A&T, coordinated the activities for the day and trained five NC State Juntos student workers on drone use prior to the event.
“Coding is such an increasingly important skill to the workforce,” Terry said. “Drones and robotics are both fun ways to get youth into coding. It is my hope that the youth in attendance were able to see themselves as coders and drone pilots for the day. I hope that the parents were able to see the potential in their youth as scientists and engineers as well as be inspired to continue to support them through their higher education experience.”
The partnership between NC State Juntos and NC A&T came together through the submission of a USDA CYFAR grant in 2018 with a focus on increasing exposure and participation in STEM activities and careers for Juntos students and families.
