Engineering Leadership students’ outreach promotes STEM fields

by Joe Harford

A team of three students in the Engineering 408 Leadership Principles class chose a semester project this year that would help promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) field awareness in the local community.

The students, Arti Patel, Rui Yang, and Joe Harford, were able to form a partnership with a Bellefonte, PA-based business, Actuated Medical, Inc., to brainstorm ideas to promote STEM education in the local community and to work on future project ideas.

The collaboration effort yielded an opportunity for the student team to participate in the Bellefonte School District Science Night on November 14, 2013. Approximately 500 community members attended the event, with the focus on engaging elementary school-aged children.

With the encouragement of school district coordinator Julie Coder, the team hopes to continue to build the relationship with Bellefonte School District through more interactive exercises at future events and classroom presentations during the school day.

As the semester winds down there are plenty of ideas for the next student team, guided by Walter L. Robb Director of Engineering Leadership Development Mike Erdmann, to explore in growing this learning opportunity. It is hoped that this activity will flourish and expand to other school districts in the Centre Region.

Joe Harford is a PhD student in the Workforce Education and Development Program in the College of Education. He is an entrepreneur who owns a technology firm in Blair County, PA, called Reclamere. He is focusing his dissertation research of identifying solutions to reduce the failure rate of start up companies in Pennsylvania. Joe enrolled in the Engineering Leadership Principles class because he believes that leadership is a crucial component for successful entrepreneurs and to witness aspiring entrepreneurs in the classroom.

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