PROJECT READY STEM 2015By Sophomore Bonner Tim Lindsey

WHAT IS PROJECT READY STEM?

Project Ready is an initiative of the National Urban League which provides services in housing, employment, and education. Project Ready is designed to help high school students with social and professional success after they graduate. According to the Urban League of the Upstate’s website, “Students are expected to make academic progress, benefit from cultural enrichment opportunities, and be trained for school navigational and life skills development.”

Project Ready STEM is a summer program orientated towards science, technology, engineering, and math. Students in this program engage in college tours, guest speakers, and different camps in Spartanburg County.

WHAT DID I DO?This past summer, I was an intern at the Urban League of the Upstate’s Spartanburg office. I worked with the Education Coordinator Saville Williams in making sure Project Ready STEM was a success. Some of my duties included:• Recruiting students to the

program• Organizing material for the

program• Supervise during benchmark

lessons and overnight trips• Communicate with parents• Teaching a benchmark lesson

WHAT DID THE STUDENTS DO?Over the course of our program our students had guest speakers come and talk to them and they were taught benchmark lessons. The benchmark lessons were mostly about college readiness, social skills, and personal behavior. The students also attended two college tours: Presbyterian/Newberry College and Southern Wesleyan University.

PRESBYTERIAN COLLEGE, NEWBERRY COLLEGE TOUR

Presbyterian is a liberal arts college founded in 1880 by Dr. William Plumber Jacobs. It is located in Clinton, SC and has 1,123 students enrolled.

Newberry College is a liberal arts school founded in 1855 by the Lutheran Synod. It is located in Newberry, SC and has 1, 155 students.

A picture of Neville Hall on the campus of Presbyterian College

NEWBERRY COLLEGEA picture of Holland Hall on the campus of Newberry College.

SOUTHERN WESLEYAN UNIVERSITYWe also had a chance to tour Southern Wesleyan University which is located in Central, SC. Southern Wesleyan is a Christian school which puts a special emphasis on a Christ-centered education. Here students had the opportunity to stay overnight in one of the university’s residence halls. Students participated in a lecture regarding physics and music, fitness, criminal justice, and fitness. Overall the students had a phenomenal time!

OTHER THINGS THAT WE DID THIS SUMMER…• Attended a luncheon with

Panther’s President Danny Morrison (pictured on the left)

• Hosted guest speakers from Human Resource departments of reputable companies

• Took a tour of the Spartanburg Public Library

• Took a tour of the historic neighborhoods in the city of Spartanburg

• Visited and toured the Middle Tyger River Park

REFLECTING ON MY SERVICE…Some things that I realized about myself during my Summer of

Service:• That the kids that I worked were amazingly socially conscious!• That I was not called to be a teacher or educator! (*Inserts praise hands emojis*)• I now have a greater respect for non-profits. Specifically, non-profits that work with education and youth programming.• I am now interested in pursuing a career in the non-profit sphere• I also want to continue working with the Urban League through part-time service