Dr. Stephanie Philipp and UTC student Colin Whitlock, who is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biology STEM education, work with middle school students from Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy. Photo by Peyton Schultz.
When Dr. Stephanie Philipp saw there was a chance to host a daylong event for a young women’s academy at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga to learn about STEAM-related activities, she jumped at the chance.
“An opportunity like this means everything, really,” said Philipp, a UTC assistant professor of education and interim director of the STEM Education Program. “In biology and chemistry, we’ve made a lot of headway where at least half—if not more—of our graduates are women.
“But in subjects like physics, math or engineering, it’s not that way. They may not see people who look like them as their professors. They may look around their classroom, see 80% men and I’m one of three women, and say, ‘What’s going on here?’ So hosting an event like this is important.”
On Friday, Feb. 16, Philipp and UTC hosted nearly 330 middle and high school students from Coretta Scott King Young Women’s Leadership Academy (CSKYWLA) in Atlanta. According to the school’s website, the academy aims to help its students perceive themselves as successful in college and the workforce by exposing them to life outside their community.
The field trip theme was “Full STEAM Ahead,” with all the students and faculty making the two-hour trek from downtown Atlanta. STEAM is a design process for learning that incorporates science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics as access points for guiding student inquiry and dialogue.
The day’s activities included visits with UTC science, math, engineering and music faculty and trips to various locations around campus—such as the Challenger STEM Learning Center. CSKYWLA students also had the opportunity to participate in specially designed campus tours and student-led panels about college life at UTC.
While CSKYWLA has had full school field trips to museums, this was the first time the academy brought all its students to a higher education institution. For many of the middle schoolers, this was their first time on a college campus.
“When they called me and said they were thinking of UTC as an option, I really didn’t know if that was possible. They wanted to meet real college professors and real college students, so I first went to admissions to see if this was possible,” Philipp said.
After getting the go-ahead from Associate Director of Engagement Brandalyn Shropshire and Associate Director of Recruitment Terrence Banks that Undergraduate Admissions could support a group that large, Philipp collaborated with numerous partners across campus in constructing the day’s calendar, asking “faculty colleagues and their students from around campus to offer a one-hour hands-on experience for these students who want to experience what it is like to be a Moc for a day.”
Philipp reached out to department heads Gretchen Potts (Biology, Geology and Environmental Science) and Keenan Dungey (Chemistry and Physics) because “as department chairs, I knew that they would know people,” she said.
She raved about the responses she received.
“I think it speaks volumes to the collaboration that we have at this University when somebody says, ‘Hey, I have some high school and middle school students coming to campus. Would you have an hour activity to present to them?’ And they say, ‘Absolutely. We’ll do it,’” Philipp said.
“A lot of them also asked their students to help, but that’s even better because the high school and middle school students got to see what a college student is like—which is way better. They’re a much more credible proxy for what goes on at a university because they’re much closer in age.”
Learn More
Photo gallery by Peyton Schultz
