Project Exploration has been at the forefront of addressing the underrepresentation of Black men and women in STEM fields in Chicago for nearly 25 years. We recognize the immense potential and excellence that too frequently lies untapped in communities such as those we serve on the South and West sides of Chicago. Before Black History Month comes to a close, we invite you to join us in fostering the bright futures of the next generation of Black innovators across Chicago.
In particular, two key and related initiatives are being led by PE to increase access for underrepresented students to STEM careers:
STEM Landscape Survey
Identify the STEM career pathways that exist in Chicago and related gaps that exist in youth-facing experiences which expose young people to and prepare students to be competitive towards those careers
STEM in the Chi
Fill the program and STEM content gaps we discover through curriculum development and training of STEAMbassadors (18-24 year old college students pursuing education or STEM majors) to lead experiences for those careers in their home communities
One potential gap that is being visualized already based on early data from the landscape survey is that there are insufficient youth programs focused on medical sciences in communities near major medical centers across Chicago. The consequence of that gap is that a young man like Jacobi growing up in the Medical District may not know of the career possibilities that exist right there in his home community.
STEM in the Chi allows us to respond to that gap by:
- engaging content partners with medical science expertise to create student-facing curricula
- identifying implementation partners who are already serving students in those communities who don’t have the medical science expertise and/or staff capacity to lead such opportunities
- identifying STEAMbassadors to train on curricula co-created by PE and content partners and lead medicine-themed pop ups, programs, and camps for their younger peers at implementation partner sites
Pilots of STEM in the Chi have hundreds of students participating in Chicago Park District summer camps to benefit from worldview-expanding STEM activities led by STEAMbassadorssince Summer 2020! Thousands more students can be reached under this model with your support!
On the macro-level, the success of just a medical science cohort of STEAMbassadors and STEM in the Chi program opportunities can begin to elicit more diversity in Chicago’s medical community as more students are exposed to and prepared for those careers. And the more students like Jacobi who pursue careers in medicine and lend more diverse world-views to the field, the more innovation we will see towards combating health disparities, the more cultural competence we will see in healthcare, and the greater wellness we will see in Black communities like the one in which Jacobi lives.
In this leap year, help PE leap forward in our commitment to fostering an equitable and inclusive future in STEM and to being more responsive to young people like Jacobi who deserves to be competitive for the careers available in his own community. Programs like those of Project Exploration provide the exposure to expand his worldview – donors like you ensure that we can sustain and grow these opportunities for thousands more Chicago students.
Thank you for your continued support. Together, we can make a lasting impact on the lives of Black youth and the future of STEM.