Centralia Middle School Hosts ‘STEM Like Me!’ Mentor Program

For a full day Wednesday at Centralia Middle School, forestry professionals educated the seventh-grade students on STEM careers and what they entail.

“We are in our ecology unit right now,” said Isabel Tuttle, science teacher at Centralia Middle School. “We brought in some professionals that are in forestry for STEM Like Me! so they (students) can see how it connects to their real lives.” 

Centralia Middle School’s seventh-grade science students spent the day learning about STEM careers in both forestry and wood products from Weyerhaeuser professionals. Weyerhaeuser awarded a grant to the United Way of Lewis County, which funded the experience.

“This is our pilot program — it’s our very first one,” said Lorie Thompson, Capital Region STEAM Network Director. “It’s really exciting. Subsequent ones don’t have to just be forestry, it can be any STEM profession.”

The STEM Like Me! program took place over all seven periods on Wednesday at the Centralia Middle School. Forestry professionals stood at different stands, where students spent 10 minutes learning about their particular careers and asking questions.

One person discussed surveying plants, the process of surveying plants, the tools she uses and how she accesses those places. Two others discussed lumber and how they assess the quality of lumber.

Meaghan Stuke, nursery and regeneration research forester, spoke to the students about seedlings and how the trees are germinated. She said the students were asking a lot of good questions that day.

“So far, they love talking to the actual STEM professional because it’s a local connection and they get to learn about jobs that are in their area and their region,” Thompson said. “(They) start thinking about ‘Maybe I want to do that when I grow up,’ or ‘These are all the courses I have to take,’ or ‘This is why I learn math — because it’s going to actually matter on my job.’ It’s just to establish that connection between the local STEM business and the school.” 

Thompson said that while the STEM Like Me! program began roughly eight years ago, this is the first one in Capital Region ESD 113. Thompson said her goal is to hold a STEM Like Me! program at every middle or high school throughout the year, and for every middle school student be exposed to career pathways in STEM.

Thompson said that morning that she wanted students to walk away with excitement about STEM professions in their area and relationships with businesses to establish career pathways.

“We want them to get excited about why they are learning math, why they are learning science,” Thompson said. “We want them to be able to make those connections between the real world and school.”

Tuttle said students would spend the next week discussing STEM jobs.

“They don’t realize that a lot of these jobs are STEM,” Tuttle said. “So we are going to talk about STEM jobs, and we are going to talk about how there are STEM jobs present here in Centralia that are accessible to them. Because, I think when they think about STEM, they think about jobs that are not accessible, so I want them to see that it is accessible here at home.”