How Maryland STEM professionals change students’ lives

Nona Carroll has worked with hundreds of professionals in science, technology, engineering and math fields—and she has noticed a common thread.

“Something sparked their interest and passion for STEM very early, and they want to share that with the next generation,” said Carroll, program director at the Maryland Business Roundtable for Education (MBRT).

“They believe that if they can expose students to new career possibilities, those young people will be more likely to attend college, to choose a STEM-related major and to actually complete that major,” she said.

In recent years, MBRT’s STEM Specialists in the Classroom volunteer program has touched the lives of thousands of students from 52 Maryland high schools. Committing two to three half-days per year, STEM professionals engage students in hands-on learning experiences that demonstrate the real-world application of classroom skills.

“The volunteers take the experience far beyond a career day of just saying what they went to school for and what they do. I recently sat in on a presentation by a mechanical engineer at Pikesville High School. He really drove home the connection between the skills he learned in school and the job he does every day. He brought it to life for the students. They were asking questions they would have never considered without him in the room,” Carroll said.

MBRT is working to expand the program’s impact, but first it must grow its pool of volunteers.

Prospective volunteers may register online and attend a training session in Baltimore County on Feb. 4. Find additional details on MBRT’s recruitment flier.