The Big Hoopla, in conjunction with Chaminade Julienne, announced the first-ever winner of The Big Hoopla STEM Teacher of the Year Award on Friday, February 23, naming to Dee Van Brackel as the recipient. She is a K-5 STEM teacher at Stephen Bell Elementary and Bell Creek Intermediate schools in Bellbrook.
An Eagle alumnus came back to CJ to share how his STEMM education is helping him prepare for his next steps in his education and career.
STEMM Idol speaker Matt Piekenbrock '10 returned to CJ as part of the STEMM Idol Speaker Series last month. He is a computer science graduate student at Wright State University.
“I didn’t know what computer science was when I was in high school so I wanted to show students things they might not have known about computer science, and I think that is very exciting,” Piekenbrock said.
A push in the direction of engineering by a CJ teacher helped lead Nadja Turek ‘96 to a career in civil engineering. She shared how she is making an impact in the infrastructure and sustainable design industries when she spoke to students as part of the STEMM Idol Speaker Series earlier this month.
Students have the opportunity to learn more about STEM careers and get hands-on experiences with engineers at John Hopkins University through the Engineering Innovation program sponsored at Clark State Community College.
“It is something I certainly would have done to see if STEM was the right career choice for me,” Kanesha Hall, manager of STEM programming at Clark State said. “In a world where education can cost so much, this is an opportunity to take advantage and see what field of engineering or what career in STEM students may be interested in.”
Students from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology spent part of their Independent Activities Period in Dayton, Ohio, talking to younger girls in Catholic schools about the opportunities they could have in a STEM career. The MIT students, Emma Kerwin and Adedoyin Olateru-Olagbegi, came to CJ on January 9 to talk about the MIT Women’s Initiative as part of the CJ STEMM Idol Speaker Series.
An Eagle graduate came back to the nest to share how she has been able to combine her love of a foreign language with her career as part of the STEMM Idol Speaker Series.
Megan Kelleher ‘03 is a Canadian Sales Manager for BarSplice Products.
“I call customers in Canada, I make sales visits up there, I present presentations to structural engineering firms and I sell the product,” Kelleher shared.
Along with having to demonstrate technical expertise, marketing talent and sales skills, Kelleher is fluent in French, a language she enjoyed learning at CJ.
Students interested in the medical field have countless areas of study to choose from including family medicine, physical therapy, nutrition and more. On Tuesday, October 17, STEMM Idol Speaker Jenna Decker, a student at Wright State University’s Boonshoft School of Medicine, shared with Eagles her path to getting into the medical field.
Taking advantage of opportunities was one of the main messages Dr. Michael Robertson focused on when he spoke with students as part of the STEMM Idol Speaker Series earlier this month.
"A lot opportunities came my way and I was told to check things out, do some public speaking, see how you feel," Robertson said. "Even times where it didn't feel like an opportunity, things became opportunities."
Five students will spend their summer working directly with professionals in the Air Force Research Laboratory as part of the Wright Scholar Research Assistant program. The select program is a paid internship that gives students the opportunity to work at the AFRL and participate in workshops, lectures and tours of STEM related jobs.
Phillip Hawthorn '17, Jasmine Hughes '18, Katie Kohnen '18, and Stephen Leik '17 are participating in the program for the first time. Austin Fuchs '17 is returning for a second year.
Students interested in STEMM fields had the opportunity to hear from a patent attorney, statistician and dietetics intern recently at the latest STEMM Idol Speaker Series presentations.
Ava Billimoria is a patent attorney for Thompson Hine law firm. She received her undergraduate degree at Kettering University in Michigan and her JD at Wayne State University also in Michigan. 
