STEM Program Helps Children's Mental Well-Being and Keeps Them Out of Trouble

WASHINGTON—A Washington D.C. youth organization is hosting Youth in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics(STEM) events to keep Washington youth off the streets and in school.

Uniting Our Youth, D.C.(UOY) is a non-profit organization that advocates for underprivileged students to combat the high rates of gang participation, violence and crime among youth. They create opportunities for students in Wards 1 and 5 with an extensive selection of afterschool and summer programs emphasizing art and STEM. The program occurs every week where children from ages eight to thirteen participate in a rotating curriculum. On February 11th, the lesson plan taught students the ins and outs of computer information systems and related ergonomic skills.

Founder and Executive Director, Clarence Miles, said he takes pride in building relations with the youth that attend his program and their families; in addition to providing a hospitable environment for kids to decompress.

“I give them the opportunity to get out of the house, get some experience, get some learning, get something to eat and have some fun,” he said.

Miles said he engages students by asking thought-provoking questions throughout the lesson. His questions invoke critical thinking and allow students to further digest the information they’re being taught.

Furthermore, Beatrice Oluwabuyi, UOY’s STEM instructor said she caters to student's various learning abilities.

“There are different age groups, [they’re] different ways of presenting the content,” she said.

As an IT specialist and founder of her IT company, she finds pride in elevating students' academic careers with a spectrum of immersive courses.

Since she started teaching, Oluwabuyi said she witnessed students’ defeatist mindset because they see their parents struggling “to make ends meet and lead a good life,” and “[they] also think they have to do the same thing.”

Her presence is essential to the organization because she is the only STEM teacher volunteer.

She said, “[she’s] not giving up on them,” and the work she does for Uniting Our Youth, “helps expose them to alternatives by building foundations they can use to better their futures.”

To conclude their sessions, assistant Jaqueline Coachman provides students with a small meal, snack and beverage.

“We always try to have something for them to snack on,” she said. “I know what it’s like to go hungry, so I always try to have a little something for them prepared, and you know, you don’t know if they got anything to eat at home.”

Miles said that many of their students come from unstable homes, where their next meal is not guaranteed.

He said, “I’d rather for [them] to eat than sit there and be hungry,” because he “[doesn’t] know if [they] get enough at home.”

After 25 years of running this program, Miles said he is always looking for better ways to improve and increase student participation and engagement.

“I don’t worry [about] my success stories from yesterday, I worry about my success story for tomorrow,” he said.