April 14, 2025

Expanding the STEM Workforce for PA’s Youth:

45 Oxford Area High School Students Will STEM at WCU on April 24

Stock image used to represent STEM education.

Stock image used to represent STEM education.

With its goal to expand the STEM workforce for PA’s youth, West Chester University’s Center for STEM Inclusion will introduce 45 Oxford Area High School 9th through 11th graders to the hands-on world of chemistry and nanoscience on April 24, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the University’s Science Complex South, located at 750 South Church Street in West Chester, and its Sciences and Engineering Center & The Commons (SECC), located at 155 University Avenue in West Chester. Uniting innovators, technologists, philanthropists, and educators, the Center’s goal is to help inspire youth who do not have access to, or the resources associated with, a robust STEM-focused curriculum to become interested in pursuing technology, engineering, coding, and related career paths.

What will the immersive STEM day at WCU look like for Oxford Area High School students? From 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. in teaching laboratories and research spaces with faculty from the University’s College of Sciences and Mathematics, students will team-up to make polymers, which are large molecules analogous to those used in medicine, in Science Complex South, or work together in the SECC to synthesize gold nanoparticles that are used in medical applications for cancer treatment and Rapid COVID/Flu tests. The two distinct hands-on activities will be followed by a campus tour and lunch from 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. Concluding the day from 12 – 1 p.m. in the SECC will be an “Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About STEM But Were Afraid to Ask” question and answer session with undergraduate STEM majors and industry partners from Deloitte’s Smart Factory Believers program, the Hope Institute of Science in Philadelphia, and others.

“It is crucial to educate students about the range of STEM careers available, as understanding these opportunities will ignite their interests and provide them with the motivation to pursue paths they might not have realized were available or attainable,” says West Chester University Professor of Physics and Engineering Dr. Brandon J. Mitchell, who helped establish and currently leads WCU’s Center for STEM Inclusion. “Ultimately, we believe that this type of program will create an expanded technology-based workforce in the Commonwealth of PA and throughout the U.S.”

The WCU Center for STEM Inclusion

The WCU Center for STEM Inclusion is dedicated to empowering southeastern Pennsylvania’s K-12 children and youth from under-resourced communities to pursue fields in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Dedicated to student success and expanding the STEM workforce, the WCU Center for STEM Inclusion is working actively to link experts in secondary and higher education, industry, government, and education-focused non-profit organizations directly with students from families with low socioeconomic means. These nurturing collaborations yield the vital resources and support that students need to successfully pursue STEM careers. Currently, the Center is partnering with more than 20 schools in southeastern PA and local nonprofit organizations.

Deloitte’s Smart Factory Believers

Deloitte’s Smart Factory Believers program is the education and workforce skills program created for The Smart Factory by Deloitte @ Wichita, Deloitte’s immersive experience center and proving ground for next-generation, digitally-driven manufacturing. The program aims to bridge the gap between technology and manufacturing jobs and the talent pool that can fill them by extending new pathways to STEM for students in under-resourced communities. The Smart Factory Believers program is designed to help provide students with high-quality STEM learning, and empower teachers with the skills needed to help students visualize and achieve jobs in the manufacturing industry.

 

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