Letters: STEM education unlocks brighter futures | Letters

For National Engineers Week last month, the theme was Transform Your Future. At Baton Rouge STEM, we believe that transformation shouldn’t depend on a child’s ZIP code. Through our STEM Exploration initiative, we are maximizing exposure for students in under-resourced schools and underserved communities, ensuring every child can see themselves as a future innovator.

Our mission spans a full “K-to-career” pipeline. During National Engineers Week, K-12 students at our partner and community sites engaged in hands-on challenges across aeronautical, electrical, structural, mechanical and chemical engineering. By dismantling the mystery of these fields early, we turn curiosity into a career path.

The journey is ongoing with our BRSTEM Fellows and ninth and 10th graders at Scotlandville High and Capitol High. These high schoolers receive the mentorship and technical rigor needed to lead the next generation. We close the loop with our STEM internship program, placing college students directly into professional environments to ensure Baton Rouge’s home-grown talent stays right here to build our city’s future.

From coding robots to designing resilient infrastructure, these students are proving that “underserved” does not mean “under-talented.” By bringing guest speakers and high-tech tools into their neighborhoods, we aren’t just teaching science — we are engineering a more equitable Baton Rouge.

The next great breakthrough is waiting in one of our classrooms and in many underserved neighborhoods. It’s our job to give them the tools to build it.

ERIC LEWIS

executive director, Baton Rouge STEM