Jim Correll, director Fab Lab ICC at Independence Community College, Independence Kansas 

Add to the list of casualties during this pandemic the summer youth programming at Fab Lab ICC. The boot camps we co-sponsor with Greenbush have been postponed and the Verizon Innovative Learning (VIL) STEM Program for middle school girls has been paused. I asked Joanne Smith, Verizon STEM camp director and owner of Fab Creative Services and SEK Living Magazine (SEKL), to write a bit about Verizon’s difficult decision to pause the camp followed by excerpts of a recent SEKL article summarizing the STEM program and what it means for these girls. 

“In a normal year, springtime would find us spreading the word and gearing up for a new year in the VIL Girls’ STEM Program at Independence Community College and Fab Lab ICC. We would be processing applications from eager students, ordering equipment and supplies and planning for the intensive three-week summer camp that kicks off the program year.   

One of Twenty Community Colleges  

The annual program is funded by the Verizon Foundation, which has made a long-term commitment to support youth STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education for underserved populations - both boys and girls - including children in lower socio-economic environments and rural communities with less access to opportunities. ICC and its Fab Lab were accepted into the program in 2017 and are among approximately 20 community colleges nationwide who have received grant funding specifically to provide STEM education for rural girls. The underlying goal is to help close the "digital divide" between males and females and help more girls develop an interest in STEM careers. Summer camp is followed by monthly Saturday workshops throughout the school year, September-May.  

Again, in a “normal” year, the excitement would be building for our third year of participation in this exceptional program – an opportunity so unique for our area and so impactful that 100 teen and pre-teen girls from all over Southeast Kansas and beyond are actually motivated to jump out of bed on a summer morning to study math and science. A program where they can have unfettered access to new technology - augmented and virtual reality, coding and circuits, 3D design and printing – and where they can learn concepts in entrepreneurship and design thinking. At summer camp, they can learn to problem-solve and have the opportunity to design their own creative solutions to real-world problems, big and small. It’s an environment where innovation is limited only by imagination, where girls learn from mentors and professional role models, where friendships are forged, and confidence is built.  

More Than Cool Technology 

"The STEM program experience is more than the fun of discovery of cool technology and the satisfaction of learning to do new things," said Fab Lab ICC Director Jim Correll. "It offers the girls a view of possibilities of a future they have not seen previously.”   

It’s eye-opening for the girls and gratifying for program instructors (hand-picked from ICC, area elementary and middle schools) and parents of the students to witness the transformation. Girls come out of their shells at STEM camp, thanks to the opportunity to learn new things.  

One mom, Tammy Mishler, who resides in Conway Springs, Arkansas but has brought her two daughters faithfully for two years to participate in summer camp and monthly workshops throughout the school year, said her girls have enjoyed learning the technology used in the program, and it has helped them develop new interests.  

"The VIL program has been a fantastic opportunity for my girls to learn more about STEM," Tammy said. "I have noticed both of my girls show more interest in STEM, and one of them is now really into robotics.”  

Keeps Girls Learning During Summer  

She also noted, "This program keeps my girls learning during the summer and not sitting in front of screens all day." Yet another benefit of the three-week summer camp is it provides a positive outlet for the girls’ energy (and believe me, they have a lot of it) and gives them an agenda on out-of-school days when, as teens and pre-teens, they might be spending their time less constructively.     

As icing on the cake, the girls have the opportunity to experience life on a college campus (they love eating lunch in the dining hall) and experiment with the other technology available at the Fab Lab. And by the way, the entire program – bus transportation, breakfast and lunch, instruction, take-home gifts and more – is entirely free to participating girls and their families. The only investments required are time, attention and a willingness to learn.    

Pause Button Pushed…For Now  

Those are the “normal” expectations. But, as we all understand all too well, 2020 has evolved into anything but a normal year. The global pandemic has brought an abrupt halt to life as we know it. It has caused the premature ending of our current STEM program and canceled the 2020 summer camp/program kick-off. With student and staff safety of utmost concern, the Verizon Foundation made the very difficult decision to push the pause button…for now.     

While the 2020-2021 girls’ STEM program will not happen, the hiatus will provide an opportunity for the Verizon organization and our local team to regroup and plan even more innovative and creative ways to deliver STEM education a year from now. Just like many of the other missed activities and opportunities we mourn today in light of our restrictive situation, the STEM program will be back. We will bring it back safely. We will bring it back with enthusiasm. And, no doubt, we will bring it back with girls who have a new perspective on what it means to solve real-world problems.     

I’m excited to see the future through the eyes of our new recruits. Stay tuned for great things to come.  

Joanne Smith, Owner, FAB Creative Services, LLC and Southeast Kansas Living magazine.  

Jim Correll is the director of Fab Lab ICC at the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship on the campus of Independence Community College. He can be reached at (620) 252-5349, by email at jcorrell@indycc.edu or Twitter @jimcorrellks. Archive columns and podcast at jimcorrell.com.