News
Kierra McInnis

This year, the K-12 University Center at Rochester Institute of Technology made its mark at Maker Faire Rochester – a gathering held annually to provide individuals with an outlet to display the work they do through hobbies, experiments and projects, with engineers, artists, scientists and various other crafters. Celebrating its first event in 2014, the event included more than 200 exhibitors and an estimated 7,200 attendees, including representatives from RIT K-12 programs, such as AEOP Apprenticeships and Fellowships, and STEP.

Thanks to a grant awarded before the pandemic to RIT’s K-12 University Center by the Army Educational Outreach Program, it allowed funds to go toward free, hands-on STEM experiences for middle and high school students this summer through Camp Tiger. Inspired by AEOP’s eCybermission, and Junior Science and Humanities Symposium, the camp offerings focused on various opportunities through the U.S. Army-based program, in addition to learning skills needed to prepare students to conduct their own research.

During a four-day national event in April that featured some of the country’s brightest young STEM scholars, the Army Educational Outreach Program Apprenticeships and Fellowships team from RIT’s K-12 University Center had the chance to be featured as an exhibitor and provide various volunteer services at the JSHS National Symposium in Virginia Beach.

The Army Educational Outreach Program Apprenticeships and Fellowships team was nominated for a 2022 Presidential Award for Outstanding Staff at Rochester Institute of Technology. Awards will be announced at a ceremony on March 22. Its director, who is also the executive director of RIT's K-12 University Center, was nominated for an individual award.

Two staff members from Rochester Institute of Technology's K-12 University Center were part of the Cool Women/Hot Jobs event at Young Women's College Prep Charter School of Rochester. The goal was to expose students to different career fields from women professionals in the area who shared their personal and professional journeys.

Open enrollment is slated after the New Year for high school through postdoctoral individuals interested in joining the Army Educational Outreach Program’s apprenticeships and fellowships. The program is funded by the Department of Defense and administered by the K-12 University Center at Rochester Institute of Technology.

Two outreach specialists with the Army Educational Outreach Program’s apprenticeships and fellowships are poised to host an information session about the Junior Science and Humanities Symposium. JSHS is a global STEM competition for youth, which, according to its website, “challenges students from everywhere to achieve, and to build the skills that prepare them for college and career.”

For staff of the Army Educational Outreach Program’s apprenticeships and fellowships, attending conferences is about being immersed in various communities to see how the program can support already-incredible STEM innovators and those aspiring to make a difference with the work they’re passionate about. The U.S. Army-funded program is based at the K-12 University Center at Rochester Institute of Technology.