Enlightium Academy Puts Students On Track Along the Path to STEM Careers

In 2015, I was invited to the 10th Anniversary Celebration Reception of the College of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (CSTEM) at Eastern Washington University (EWU) in Cheney, Washington. This event hosted several amazing speakers from local companies and former alumni. It also showcased several of the robotic engineering and animation labs, where a variety of student projects were on display.

It was exciting to talk to these students and their professors about their projects, interesting STEM careers, and academic backgrounds!

You may have seen this acronym ‘STEM’, which is the term for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics. Recent academic trends place a high emphasis on studying these subjects jointly, rather than separately. This development is in recognition of the fact that these areas require overlapping skills, and that in the real world these skills are intertwined. Staying current with STEM careers and program trends at the college level is something that I’m very passionate about.

Many parents ask me, “What can our schools do to better prepare my child for a career choice that would involve science and technology?” I was curious about the academic backgrounds of these engineering students, and especially how the subject matter of our Enlightium Academy Curriculum matches up with their high school backgrounds. I was pleased to hear that what we do with our online Career and Technical Education (CTE) courseware is quite relevant in preparing our students for this type of work at the college level. Having a solid basis in the fields of math and science offers an excellent springboard to these types of college programs.

I had the pleasure of talking to Ashley, a EWU Senior, about her robotics project (pictured below). It is a servo-driven mechanism for a robotic clamp. She designed, engineered, and programmed this project. She mentioned that although this is not a ‘traditional career choice’ for women, she feels it offers a great future as a robotics engineer. She related, “All you need is a sense of curiosity and a drive to succeed and you can go far in this field.” Somehow I know she certainly will!

It was great to see this type of engineering work at the college level and know that our courseware would definitely help students, like Ashley, succeed in their college endeavors and help prepare them for STEM careers.

Enlightium Academy is a private Christian online school that serves homeschooling families by offering a Bible-based, flexible, accredited, teacher-supported, and affordable education from the comfort of your home. For any other questions about Enlightium, please call (509) 319-2288, or visit EnlightiumAcademy.com.