This blog is fourth of a series with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America National Youth Advisory Council, created to share and express the issues and ideas that matters to youth while reaching a national audience. Through this space, we hope to acknowledge real life experiences, problems and perspectives that are often overlooked. Today’s post was authored by Crystal L. from the John M. Barry Boys & Girls Club of Newton.
When I first entered high school, everybody always asked me, “Crystal, what career do you want to pursue in the future?” “What major do you want to pick in college?” These questions were all very exciting to me because they felt like my first step into the adult world, and I was eager to make an impact. But that same freedom also caused a lot of pressure and uncertainty. I knew I was interested in STEM, but I didn’t know where to start. This uncertainty came from not knowing what specific fields looked like or how to explore them.
I decided to investigate this problem at my Club and discovered that I wasn’t alone. When I surveyed the kids, I found that 58% felt intimidated by STEM because they didn’t know enough about it, while 42% thought they weren’t naturally good at it.
This is why providing accessible STEM career exploration resources in after-school programs like the Boys and Girls Club matters, and one way I decided to address this problem was by co-founding my youth-led initiative, Ready Set STEM.
All About Ready Set STEM
Ready Set STEM is a youth-led organization that my friends and I co-founded about 2 years ago. Spurred by our observation of the lack of accessible STEM programming, we created a project to show kids how fun STEM can be, introduce them to different careers, and help them feel more prepared for a future in STEM. Ultimately, our goal is to provide youth in our community with the essential resources they need to ask questions and explore their interests.
Right now, we hold monthly, different-themed experiments with our local Club, the John M. Barry BGC of Newton. Some of our most popular events last year were strawberry DNA extraction for biology and magnetic slime for chemistry. Our events generally consist of a hands-on experiment, followed by a short presentation and a Kahoot.
Three important aspects of Ready Set STEM differentiate us from other STEM groups. First, we are completely youth-led. We hold weekly meetings to plan everything from the monthly themes to experiments, materials, and execution, all as a group of 3 high schoolers. Second, we connect all of our events to the idea of career exploration. For example during our biology experiment, we not only teach kids about the concept of DNA, but we also connect it to the careers associated with that topic, such as a forensic scientist. Lastly, our aim for these kids is EXPOSURE, not retention. Kids spend all day sitting in school with many expectations already placed on them, so we want our events to be fun and low-pressure instead. We also know that sometimes, our concepts are a little bit advanced for some of the kids who walk in. It’s okay because our hope is that every kid can walk out of our event having had fun and learned something cool. Maybe when they encounter it again in middle or high school, they’ll remember this and think, “Hey, this STEM concept is familiar to me. I did a fun experiment with some teens a while ago; maybe I should explore this more!”
Since our creation, Ready Set STEM has held a speaker event with 20+ teens, 3 summer events, and 8 of the monthly different- themed events with elementary schoolers. But the most important thing I want you to know is that our journey wasn’t easy. We switched ideas multiple times. Only by repeatedly experimenting did we find our target goal and a smooth format of execution.
Throughout this process, the two most important and surprising skills and mindsets I developed were how to problem-solve and take initiative. That was largely because our group is youth-led and there is no adult telling us what to do. That means there is no one setting the direction for us, nor anyone pushing us to complete tasks on time. Initiating, brainstorming, and solving problems that come up is something at every single one of our meetings. This can be a very big responsibility, but it’s also incredibly rewarding.
My Advice for YDPs
Ready Set STEM has come a long way in the past two years, but there is still so much more we hope to do. With the right support, I truly believe that every young person can create an impact in STEM. My own experience has taught me that the support of adults can make a huge difference in helping teens recognize what they are capable of. For youth development professionals, I believe one of the most important things you can do is to help youth believe in themselves, and I have three pieces of advice for how to do that through STEM programming.
But first, it’s important to recognize that every teen is at a different point in their journey, so the kind of support they need can look very different. For example, some teens may avoid STEM programming because they think the subject is too difficult, while others may already feel confident in STEM but aren’t sure what direction to explore next. I believe the same principles can help both groups, but how we apply them should depend on the individual.
Help teens feel comfortable starting without having all the answers.
It’s important to reassure teens that it’s ok and normal to feel uncertain about their skills or what they want to do in the future.
- For a teen who feels intimidated by STEM, this means creating an environment they know they won’t be judged in, and letting them know it’s ok to be at the spot they’re at
- For a teen who is already confident in STEM, you can ask them if there’s a general area they’re interested in, and reassure them that it’s okay not to know what they want to do in the future. In fact, many adults switch career directions all the time too, and exploring different interests is how they can begin to discover what they enjoy.
Most importantly, let all teens know an adult will be there to support them as they figure things out.
Believe in teens and give them real opportunities to lead.
Encouragement matters most when adults take young people’s ideas seriously and give them opportunities to act on them. The adults at the Boys & Girls Club, both at my local club and through BGCA’s National Youth Advisory Council, introduced me to the idea that my voice mattered. They respected my opinions, took them seriously, and most of all, they believed in me. That belief was incredibly important in helping me see that I could create change.
In STEM programming, this can start small.
- For a teen who is still building confidence, it might mean asking for their opinion on an experiment or letting them choose a topic they enjoy.
- For a teen who is ready for more responsibility, it could mean involving them in planning an activity or helping run an experiment for younger kids. Giving teens opportunities to take on more responsibility makes them feel respected, gradually allows them to build confidence and develop their ability to take initiative.
Help teens recognize the impact they can create.
Taking young people’s opinions seriously is important, but helping them build confidence in themselves is also about helping them see their impact.
- For a teen who is just beginning to explore STEM, this might mean recognizing their effort and helping them reflect on what they learned from an experiment.
- For a teen who helps lead an activity, it could mean pointing out how much fun the younger kids had participating.
Seeing what my team and I have created through Ready Set STEM is one of the things that motivates me to keep working on this project. Interacting with the younger kids and seeing their excitement reminds me of myself when I was their age. Looking back on what we have accomplished together has also strengthened my confidence in myself. Through this process, I’ve learned that taking initiative doesn’t just allow us to create change for others; it also helps us recognize what we are capable of ourselves.
I used to think I needed to have my future all planned out in order to succeed. Now, I realize that maybe I don’t need to have everything figured out yet. Maybe that clarity comes along the way, as I explore new interests, take initiative, and learn from my experiences.
I want young people to be excited about and informed about a future in STEM, but most importantly, I want them to believe they can take initiative now, both for their own futures and to help others. They don’t need to know exactly what that will look like before they begin, but if they keep trying, they will learn plenty along the way.
To all the youth development professionals out there, your role isn’t to decide a young person’s path for them. It’s to create opportunities for them to discover what they can do. That’s what matters the most.
About the Author
Learn more about all the incredible members of the National Youth Advisory Council at BGCA.org.
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