Week 3

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Friday, June 28, 2013

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Dayton Syme

Another fun week. I started at the Department of Education on Monday, and ever since, the week has flown by. I met my boss, Dr. Camsie McAdams – an all-around STEM education reformer. I would give you her entire bio, but she has done so much I think it would be better for you to just read about her:www.trianglecoalition.org/einstein-fellows/past-fellows/camsie-mcadams.

As soon as I arrived, I was given several projects. They ranged from 1 page summaries to talking points, all based on STEM education. Speaking of talking points, I turned in my first ever set on Wednesday summarizing the main goals of the Co-STEM reorganization and implementation.

I have been looking into several bills and topics brought up by Congress recently. I am hoping to have my next two sets of talking points done by Monday or Tuesday. They will focus on how these bills relate to STEM education. I will also be taking a closer look into H.R.2356 dealing with computer science; an often overlooked field, even though it’s expected to be the largest contributor to the increase of STEM jobs in the near future.

Today, I read a research study discussing the bleak landscape of underrepresented minorities in STEM and SEB (Social, Economic, and Behavioral Sciences) when it comes to the debt they get for earning their degree. It goes further by comparing all race groups and their genders. Here’s the link: http://www.air.org/focus-area/education/index.cfm?fa=viewContent&content_id=2489&id=6.

The staff here are extremely kind, and have given me an incredible amount of advice and help. A tip for those who want to intern at the Department of Education: learn Outlook, it may be the most constantly used program around.

Dayton Syme