Otero County Robokids advocate for STEM in schools

ALAMOGORDO – Students from Alamogordo and Cloudcroft high schools gave a presentation to City Commissioners at Tuesday's regular Commission meeting.

The Students outlined their efforts to bring more science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) educational activities to New Mexico students. The students also discussed the ways in which New Mexico could improve support for these activities in its schools.

The students spoke as part of the Alamogordo First Robotics Competition’s (FRC) ASTRO Vikings, a STEM advocacy group led by coach and robotics mentor Debbie Martinez.

The team gave a similar presentation in Washington, D.C. in June to the New Mexico Congressional delegation on Capitol Hill and U.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Jaqueline Van Ovost at the Pentagon. In Washington, D.C., the team asked that federal grants given to the state be used for STEM programs.

The availability of STEM activities in schools has far-reaching effects, said Cloudcroft High School sophomore Dallas Holcomb.

“FIRST isn’t just about robots, it’s about gracious professionalism and core values. It’s about inspiring students to pursue higher goals,” Holcomb said. “FIRST works because it keeps kids more engaged in their education, and teaches them to be excited about learning by involving them in hands-on experiences.”

Access to these programs is especially important to female students, who have historically been underrepresented in STEM careers. Women involved in programs like First are seven times more likely to pursue an engineering career, Holcomb said.

More generally, Alamogordo High School senior James Heaton said involvement in programs like FRC can instill the confidence and skills students need to become involved in other activities.

“STEM gave me the courage to branch out into other activities, such as Key Club and Student Council, and pursue positions in groups such as NHS,” Heaton said.

The team also highlighted how the state is negatively impacted by the absence of STEM programming in New Mexico schools.

According to Alamogordo High School graduate Janell Wright, the lack of STEM discourages students from studying related fields in college, but also contributes to the “brain drain” that takes graduates away from their home state.

“There are 530,000 students and 60,000 teams involved in FIRST competitions. New Mexico only has eight of those teams,” Wright said. “It would be amazing to see an increase in the quantity of students that are exposed to STEM through First. New Mexico needs these opportunities in order to compete with the rest of the United States and on the global job market.”

Another issue the team raised was the fact that New Mexico colleges do not offer any of the $81 million in scholarship funds available exclusively to students involved in First programs.

“Other colleges are taking advantage of the grants and offering them to students to come to their schools, but colleges in New Mexico are not offering scholarships to First members,” said Taffitha Miller, a senior at Alamogordo High School. “Students don’t have the incentive or even the ability to use the scholarships in-state.”

The robotics competitions attended by First groups often feature recruiting events, with prominent tech companies offering scholarships for students, Martinez said.

“Ten percent of the incoming freshman in the engineering program at MIT were from First, and a lot of them are pulling four-year scholarships,” Martinez said. But because New Mexico colleges are not offering these scholarships means, those students who want to remain in-state for college may not be able to, she said.

“Instead, we should be recruiting students to come here, and increasing access to it for the rest of the state,” she said.

This coming school year marks the third year the team has competed, Miller pointed out, and every student on the team is on-track to graduate and begin a career in a STEM field.

“We want to make sure that decision makers at the state level understand the importance of these programs and try to help spread them thorough the other communities in New Mexico,” Martinez said.