In August, students with the AIM TRIO Talent Search at Monroe Middle School and Benson High School participated in a week long Summer Technology Camp at AIM’s Brain Exchange. The students were excited to learn technologies such as Virtual Reality, Drone Piloting, 3D Modeling/Printing, Video Game Design, and Robotics.
Included in the technology camp were discussions about current and future jobs, which are all a part of the growing landscape of careers that cross STEM fields.
Students work Blockly Games, coding for video game design, and with lunchbox computer kits using Raspberry Pi.
During the Summer Technology Camp, the students also had the opportunity to ask questions during Congressman Don Bacon’s Round Table discussion presented at the AIM Brain Exchange on August 3, which highlighted the value of computer science and STEM Education.
Middle and high school students interested in creating technology, are invited to participate. Winners are invited to Washington D.C. to be recognized and be eligible for prizes. http://www.congressionalappchallenge.us/
September asw the return of two popular After School programs for students in AIM TRIO Talent Search at Monroe Middle school.
Technology Mash Up will explore cool IT gadgets like SMART basketballs and soccer balls that use technology to calculate angles and speed while Science Club will experiment with crime scene investigation and rocket launches.
Andrea Padilla-Rosas (director) and Kari D’Angelo (coordinator)
AIM TRiO Upward Bound at Bryan High School held their first annual Upward Bound Returning Student Orientation on Wednesday, September 5, 2018. They had a great turn out with students and families in the library at Bryan.
Eighteen students and 21 family members enjoyed dinner catered by Sam’s Leon Mexican Restaurant and learned more about the program and the calendar of events planned for the school year. The surprise announcement was the destination of our Spring Break College Trip: Oklahoma and Texas! The students (and parents) are excited about it!
In addition to getting the school year up and running, Andrea Padilla-Rosas (director) and Kari D’Angelo (coordinator) have been recruiting students to fill the spaces that the 2018 graduating seniors vacated. They’ve had an increase in interest simply by word of mouth—referrals from current AIM Upward Bound students. Their Bryan UB students are their best recruiters.
The next items on the calendar are the UNO/EducationQuest College Fair at UNO on Sunday, September 23 and UNL College Access Day on Wednesday, October 3.
Go Bears!
Back to school can be a tough time for both teachers and students everywhere––Thomas Jefferson High School in Council Bluffs is no exception. But there is one special corner of the school (otherwise known as Classroom C-218) where there were some people VERY excited for the launch of another new year and the school’s Back to School event.
Tanya Jacha, the new Director of Upward Bound at Thomas Jefferson, and Matt Patten, the new Coordinator, had been planning for the first day back for weeks, and were looking forward to getting kids just as excited about Upward Bound as they were.
Jacha and Patten arrived at the Back to School event early in order to make their Upward Bound booth special for students and their families. Their huge, 18-inch jar of candy was filled to the brim, the AIM bouncy ball supply had been replenished, and the shiny new Upward Bound pens were begging to be used to fill out new applications.
Parents started arriving early and were able to hang out at the Upward Bound table while they enjoyed a few pieces of candy and encouraged their kids to listen to Jacha and Patten’s plans for getting them to college.
The event had a huge turn out and Jacha and Patten said that the Upward Bound table had at least two or three families at it at all times who were asking questions and requesting applications. Their simple question of, “Who wants to go to college?” kept families flocking their way.
Jacha and Patten said that although the parents are intrigued by that question, the students showed more interest when they would ask, “Who wants to travel to fun places?”
The students and their sibilings were able to see some of Upward Bound’s 2018 summer trips on a slideshow, giving them a sneak peek at what could be in store for them, too.
In total, 13 Upward Bound applications are completed at the event with another 34 taken to fill out at home. Jacha and Patten said it was a great evening and a sign of the energetic and exciting year to come!
Mr. Holland is a recent Nebraska transplant, having moved to the area from Texas this summer. Prior to joining the AIM Upward Bound team, he served eight years as a Scouting Professional with the Boy Scouts of America in both the Houston and Austin metro areas. He also previously worked as the Director of Operations for THE BEACON, Houston’s largest homeless drop-in center.
Mr. Holland holds a master’s degree in Nonprofit Management from the University of Houston and has a certificate in Volunteer Management from Rice University.
Mr. Holland is married to his wife of seven years; they have two dogs, Sam and Piper. In his free time, Mr. Holland enjoys outdoor activities like hiking and canoeing as well as working on woodworking projects and playing guitar.
Mr. Holland hopes to continue the success of the PLV Upward Bound program stating, “Upward Bound is such a great program for our students, it’s our job to make it even better.”
As Grant Manager, Mr. Holland is tasked with making sure the program is planned and runs according to the Department of Education guidelines.
Ms. Griffin is a Nebraska native, graduating from both Omaha North High School and the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. She has bachelor’s degrees in Science in Mathematics and English, as well as a Masters degree in the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine from the University of Oklahoma.
Ms. Griffin is engaged to her fiance Mitch and will be married in October. Outside of her love for math, Ms. Griffin loves running and reading. She also is an avid volunteer with the Radio Talking Book in Omaha.
As College and Career Coordinator, Ms. Griffin will closely with the PLV Upward Bound Students and lead the weekly Upward Bound services. Also, due to prior experience and expertise, Ms. Griffin will also lead all of the Upward Bound ACT prep classes this year.
Previously, the PLV Upward Bound program was overseen by former Grant Manager Kimberlyn Oliver, and former College and Career Coordinator Dex Conwell. Both exited the program earlier this year.
Crane’s talk is titled “Engineers and Designers, in Harmony” and will focus on the complex relationship between the two disciplines.
“In the old days, the relationship wasn’t great, and it didn’t get better with the advent of Agile,” said Crane, who has more than 20 years of experience of software product design in and around Silicon Valley. “I think developers stereotypically thought of designers as kind of unrealistic artists who didn’t understand software and were making unreasonable demands on them. And on the other hand, designers have felt at times like developers didn’t value their work or weren’t willing to think outside the box. But we’ve moved beyond that.”
Crane says she will talk about ways designers and developers can work together more successfully.
She says she has seen many examples of great software that lacks well-designed user interfaces. She says that a stronger focus good design can lead to a healthier bottom line.
“It’s not held up as something that someone besides an engineer should do. There’s an expertise that someone should have when they do it. It can be a differentiator that really moves the needle for a business. It can have a connection to the bottom line,” Crane said.
Crane will also take part in a breakout session Friday afternoon. In A Digital Transformation Case Study with TEAM Software, Crane and Michelle Shanholtz, vice president of product management at TEAM Software, will talk about how the company reworked its approach to software development.
“It’s really a digital transformation story in the way that they reconsidered what their software offering was and frankly, how they created that software, so they could be agile and learn from users through primary research and make change over time based on what they learned,” said Crane.
For more information about Crane and other HDC speakers, visit AIM’s Heartland Developers Conference website.
