Outcomes
Our hands-on outreach activities, career and professional development sessions, and conferences benefit a wide audience ranging from elementary school to professionals. We have been an all-volunteer run organization thus far, offering programming at no cost to participants, and have tried to bear lean principles in mind to minimize waste.
As an example of our impact, SOSA’s hands-on workshops, STEPS, began in Jamaica where we have partnered with more than 50 schools. We subsequently expanded to the USA through community partnerships with organizations such as Elevation Scholars Program, IAMSTEM, and Orlando Math Circle.
Virtually, our students were originally from the Caribbean and the US, where participants were located across the eastern seaboard and southern US, with a few in the Midwest and on the West Coast! Now, we’ve had students from across the globe. We are excited to continue engaging with students all over the world in a culturally meaningful manner!
Testimonials
Students' Feedback
1. How have interactions with SOSA ’s presenters influenced the way participants think about STEM careers?
“They taught me to be open minded, there are many routes you can take to become a medical professional! ”
“I learned about careers that I didn’t know existed and it helped me calm down in finding out that they all have great careers and their journeys were all so different in getting to that end point so there is no need to stress about it or rush the process.”
“The interaction with the presenters has motivated me to continue pursuing a career in the medical field and never give up. It was really helpful being able to get insights from professionals in a variety of fields to grasp a better look at what their day-today work life is like from their perspective.”
“Each of the presenters provided me with both educational and life advice! They all stressed the importance of work/life balance as well as finishing whatever path you take no matter how long it takes! They truly inspired me to go after the STEM career path that my heart desires.”
2. How is STEPS is different from school programs?
“Different because at my school our science classes are just being in the classroom and writing and doing experiments.”
“It was completely different and very exciting to know more about the earth.”
“You get to share your opinions.”
“It was more interactive and WAYYY more fun”
3. How has STEPS influenced our participants’ thoughts on STEM?
“It made me know what people do in STEM careers.”
“The [STEM] career is really interesting, and STEPS helped me to learn new things.”
“[STEPS] showed me how we can protect the planet!”
“[STEPS] makes you learn new things, especially about the world.”
“I know so much about the environment and technology because of the workshop.”
“I think that technology is way better than what I thought it was, and scientists are very creative.”
“I realize that there are many ways in which these careers benefit the environment.”
“STEPS influenced me to do more research into the climate clock and what robotics can do to help.”
4. How has STEPS built interest in STEM?
“It has opened my mind to new careers”
“Now I want to be a scientist, this workshop is so inspirational and I had so much fun.”
“Before I thought STEM was like a boring career, but I now see that it is not as boring as it seems.”
“It showed me how we can save the environment. Now I want to be an engineer.”
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