By Frank Sinatra, AAP Editor
Pennsauken resident Calvin R. Bell, III recently joined 300 other young people from across the country to take part in the National Youth Leadership Forum (NYLF): Explore STEM, a unique academic experience that allows students to explore career possibilities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
The 14 year old, who recently graduated from Spruce Hill Christian School as co-valedictorian and will be attending Moorestown Friends on scholarship in the fall, was nominated by one of his teacher to travel to Emery University in Atlanta to learn about robotics, biomedicine, video game design and environmental science.
“The Envision Experience was an exciting and impactful opportunity,” says Bell. “I enjoyed the energy that I received from my fellow peers who were nominated and the enthusiasm from the advisors.”
Bell and the other students who attended the program participated in a broad range of interactive simulations, hands-on workshops and educational site visits to discover the work of today’s professionals in fields such as engineering, health care and environmental science. Scholars of the program also learned to develop critical success skills such as time management, conflict resolution, information analysis, collaboration and public speaking.
“Within our group, we created Vex IQ robots, participated in a group hack-a-thon, had a debate on concussions, performed hands-on projects like creating desalinization kits to make filtered water, talked about renewable energy sources, and much more,” says Bell. “I also worked closely on renewable energy and running a city in my individual lab, creating our own cities in groups with a budget of $350,000; we also played a virtual game called ‘Sim City Edu,’ which was high intense engineering for cities.”
The sciences are a passion for Bell, but he also focusing on a future career in law or politics. He hopes that experiences like NYLF Explore STEM will help him not only stand out as a strong college candidate in four years, but also inspire others to find innovative ways to further their educational journey.
“A lot of students my age, they think it’s not time to look at college. If you start now, you’ll be ahead of the game. You won’t be late to start doing things that colleges are looking for. I’m investing in my future. Others can too.”
For more information on NYLF Explore STEM, visit NYFLstem.com.
