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Math, science careers take center stage
Published 11:13am Wednesday, February 25, 2009Area high school students gathered on the Minnesota State Community and Technical College -Fergus Falls campus Tuesday to learn more about potential careers in math and science.
The second annual Science Technology Engineering Math (STEM) Day gave area high school students an opportunity to dive into careers in math and science through hands-on activities.
“We put this together to invite students here to explore different careers,” said M State biology instructor Carol Bischof.
Students also were able to listen to a group of panel members, made up of area leaders in technology and science, who let students know actions they’ll need to take now in order to set themselves up for the future.
The advice given by Kelly Swanson, a project manager for green energy company VInco, was to, above all else, develop a good work ethic.
M State students put their knowledge to use by hosting workshops, where high school students were introduced to new concepts not normally discussed in high school courses.
Nursing program students helped students dissect beef and pig hearts. That was the highlight for Fergus Falls senior Allie Aho, who is considering a career in the medical field.
Nursing students said it was gratifying to see students take an interest, and retain the knowledge they had learned during the session.
Other workshops allowed students to dissect a pregnant shark, extract their own DNA and learn a bit about electricity, magnetism and electromagnetism, to name a few.
Students who attended the STEM day were encouraged to bring posters related to topics in health, science and technology. Posters included a range of topics, including robotic limbs and chemistry, cloning, brain disorders, vaccines and leprosy.
At the end of the day, poster winners were announced. First place went to Justin Tucker and Elizabeth Quinier of Wadena Deer Creek for their poster on corpus colostomy. Barbara Scheiding and Cassandra Behl of Wadena Deer Creek took second place for their poster of laminitis. The third place award was given to Samantha Klaphake, Erin Meyer, Kelsey Loxtercramp and Alexandra Dirschel of Melrose for their poster on the science of twins.
All together, roughly 130 juniors and seniors attended the event from Fergus Falls, Wadena, Melrose, Osakis, West Central, Brandon and Evansville.
