Meeting with policymakers on the Hill is no longer just a job for adults, as several students from Clarkston High School’s Team RUSH Robotics learned last week.
Seven members, Patrick Riggs, Josh Fox, Kevin McKinsey, Jonah Sementkowski, Maya Alalouf, Andrew Whitley, and Troy Hughes, left from Clarkston High School at 4 a.m., June 16, with the mission of flying to the District of Columbia and meeting with Washington legislators.
‘We came to D.C. to tell congressmen and senators about the importance of math, science, and technology,? said Team RUSH member Troy Hughes.
Called ‘STEM? subjects in Washington, science, technology, engineering, and math, these areas are a hot topic among policymakers at the Capitol, Hughes said.
Team RUSH also talked about how they can be better taught by organizations such as the CSMTech, Clarkston Math, Science, and Technology Academy at Clarkston High School.
The students of CSMTech get a hands-on, project based, integrated education in math, science, and technology.
Going with these seven students were two team mentors, including team leader and CSMTech teacher Kyle Hughes.
Hughes emphasized the secondary mission of the trip, saying ‘it has been a life-altering experience for these kids. The transformation of the students from Tuesday to Thursday afternoon was amazing.?
This trip gave these students a unique experience to become professional communicators through a trial-by-fire experience at the highest levels of government, she said.
They met officials including Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin, and the offices of Gov. Jennifer Granholm and Congressmen Vernon Ehlers, Dale Kildee, Gary Peters, Thaddeus McCotter, and Mike Rogers. Team RUSH also met with Program Director Gerhard Salinger of National Science Foundation, and Don Knezek, CEO of International Standards of Technology Education.
The students expect to keep in touch with most of the people they spoke with, starting a dialog that would eventually lead to an increased awareness for project-based, hands-on math and science programs like CSMTech, Hughes said.
‘My favorite part of the entire trip was probably meeting with the senators and congressmen,? Sementkowski said. ? I felt good talking to them about math, science, and technology.?
‘I thought it would be really nerve-wracking and scary’but it was just like talking to any other person,? Alalouf said.
‘Without a doubt this will be an experience I will remember for the rest of my life,? McKinsey said.