By GREGORY ZELLER //
A future-workforce initiative with a regional academic twist is soaring at the Cradle of Aviation Museum.
On Feb. 11, the Long Island STEM Hub – a regional consortium of corporate and academic leaders encouraging high school students toward science, technology, engineering and mathematics careers – will hold the second session of its Career Conversations series at the Garden City museum, this focused on professional pathways into manufacturing professions.
The seven-part series, gathering on sporadic Saturdays through June, puts college recruiters and industry professionals before students, parents and teachers for presentations, questions and answers – a from-the-trenches toolbox geared toward well-informed higher-ed and career choices.
In January, the series kicked off with a Career Conversation focused on technology industries. Attended by more than 60 students, the opening round included presentations by – and on-on-ones with – U.S. Department of Defense cybersecurity analyst Zachary Singleton, Boeing software engineer Shanjeetha Kirupananthan and Michael Nizich, director of the New York Institute of Technology’s Entrepreneurship and Technology Innovation Center.
Andrew Parton: Learning on the fly.
Arming parents, guardians and especially the next generation of professionals with that kind of front-line knowledge is Job No. 1 for the Long Island STEM Hub, one of 10 regional hubs in the Empire State STEM Learning Network, each a community-led collaborative committed to advancing STEM education and preparing high schoolers to rock across a plethora of in-demand careers.
Following those Jan. 21 technology presentations by Nizich et al, this Saturday’s Career Conversation is scheduled to include visits from Farmingdale-based multinational musical-instrument master D’Addario and Co., Ronkonkoma-based aerospace cornerstone East/West Industries and other stalwarts of Long Island manufacturing – further substantiating how strongly the regional STEM community has responded to the initiative, according to Cradle of Aviation Museum President and Long Island STEM Hub Co-steward Andrew Parton.
“The best place for a student to learn is by hearing from the people who are in it every day,” Parton told Innovate Long Island. “Whether that’s through manufacturing and design, traveling in jet planes, building the next energy system or even taking care of their neighbor in a health setting.”
New twist: Career Conversations help dozens of Long Island students explore potential STEM paths.
Further Career Conversations are scheduled for March 25 (energy), April 1 (aviation), April 22 (life and environmental sciences), May 13 (engineering) and June 3 (healthcare). Pre-registration is required for students, guardians and school professionals, and there’s plenty of room at the Cradle of Aviation for additional industry and collegiate presenters.
The more the merrier, according to Parton, who noted the whole idea behind the socioeconomic initiative is to sustain the future industrial ecosystem and “inspire future Long Islander leaders.”
“[They’re] hearing from local professionals about growing industries in our region,” the STEM Hub co-steward added. “There’s limitless opportunities out there, and we want students from all parts of the Island to … make informed choices to build their own pathway.”
