Moncks Corner’s National Association for the Advancement of Colored People wants youth to be equipped as industrial and tech companies continue rolling into the tricounty area.
The local branch hosted a science, technology, engineering and mathematics-themed camp July 18-21 at Moncks Corner Baptist Church. Youth ages 11-14 attended where they flew handcrafted paper airplanes, explored Google Chromebooks, and listened to numerous presentations by Boeing South Carolina, SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic and Google Data Center reps.
This was the NAACP’s first year hosting such a camp.
“STEM is the future for jobs,” said NAACP member Jerald Borden Jr. “NAACP chose to bring about STEM awareness as it relate to careers, enhance student interest in STEM careers and to provide an interactive fun-filled STEM learning program for students.”
The camp launched Tuesday with a presentation by Boeing South Carolina manufacturing engineer manager Duran Gunter.
Gunter, who set up a table that featured toy-sized Boeing 787 Dreamliner airplanes, told youth how planes are made from start to finish, and discussed the importance of hard work and dedication.
"You have to think outside of where you’re currently at,” Gunter said. “Work hard. Think. Be smart. You will excel.”
Jerald Borden Jr. added that in rural areas, residents aren’t always trained to work in the growing field. He said it is important to start training from adolescence.
“Opportunities for [STEM] are lacking in rural areas,” he said. “Although there are opportunities for employment in STEM careers, there is a shortage of qualified workers. These are the type of skills that students learn by studying science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).”
Berkeley County has attempted to prepare workers for the growing STEM industries. As Volvo Cars schedules to roll out its first vehicle in late 2018, the county has partnered with Trident Technical College, the South Carolina Department of Commerce, Volvo Cars and ReadySC to create a curriculum that prepares residents for employment.
A third public meeting about the program is scheduled for Saturday, July 22 at Goose Creek High School.
Volvo Cars, Boeing South Carolina, Google and SPAWAR, Nucor Steel and Blackbaud are a few of the STEM-centured companies in the tri-county area.
“With all the industries coming in the area, our children need to be engaged in that,” said NAACP President Ethel Jefferson.
“The labor market is poor today. We need more people. This is preparing them.”
Marym Abouelella, 10, was excited about the Boeing South Carolina presentation. She learned that it takes a month to build a plane, and was surprised when she discovered that Boeing works with Google.
“I asked all of those questions because I didn’t really know about Boeing,” Abouella said. “They build a lot of planes and I wanted to know what they do there.”
Abouelella has aspirations to become an electrical engineer. She knows that education will be key to her success.
“I’m hoping to learn a lot because I love learning,” Abouella said. “That’s the main thing in my life. I love learning.”
The camp culminated with a tour of Boeing South Carolina's North Charleston campus.
