Tap low-income students for careers in STEM

By Kathy Glampe, August guest blogger

During the past year, I have heard many warnings in the news, at conferences and even in Readers Digest, that the U.S. is losing its competitive edge in STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). Whether it is the number of engineers the U.S. graduates compared to China, India and South Korea or the investment that U.S. companies are making in research and design, the message is clear—we are losing ground. The U.S. must take very seriously its ability to compete in STEM if it is to remain a global leader.

An important part of maintaining our competitive edge is preparing the virtually untapped pool of low-income students for study and careers in STEM. According to the Louis Stokes Institute for Opportunity in STEM Education, for every 10,000 low-income students starting 9th grade, only 30 will earn a bachelor’s degree in a STEM field and only 1 will begin graduate school in a STEM field the year after earning the bachelor’s degree. We need to invest in this vast pool of potential scientists, mathematicians and engineers not only to boost the U.S. ability to compete on a global basis, but because it is the right thing to do.

What can we do?

• Encourage your legislators (both at the local, state and federal levels) to support and expand initiatives that assist low-income students to pursue and succeed in STEM fields (i.e. TRiO Math and Science Upward Bound programs, SMART grants to encourage low-income student engagement in STEM, NSF funded S-STEM programs, etc.)
• Support and expand non-federally funded programs (i.e. Pipeline Summer Camp Programs)
• Support and assist K-12 educators to expand the pool of students prepared for STEM fields
• Reach out to students you know and suggest science and math

I would love to hear your ideas for what can be done to address this important issue!