BRENT KIE
Each day STEMulus Center is open, students walk past Brent where he sits at the front desk. His activities range from organizing program schedules, outreach via social media, even registration once those students have found their way to him. As an AmeriCorps Vista in his second term, Brent prioritizes what will have the most lasting effect for his partner site. Since March, he has organized the social media outreach calendar to grow public awareness. By organizing demographic data in conjunction with creating classes, his hope is that anyone interested in these certificate granting programs will have access to these community resources. Brent’s background in database design paired with STEMulus Center’s coding and web development results in an educational opportunity that gives back to the state of New Mexico via its largest community in Albuquerque.
As part of the STEAM New Mexico initiative, Brent’s work at the STEMulus Center provides job training opportunities within IT and business fields for New Mexican residents. With titles such as, “Deep Dive Coding” and “IGNITE Community Accelerator,” these programs work to increase social equity through ownership of each participant's experience. The center fosters a welcoming environment of conversation and collaboration with a study/work area intentionally connected to a break room shared by students and staff. This open learning center brings peers together not in classes but in “cohorts.” Brent explains that the STEMulus center has developed an understanding of divergent student/teacher relationships. Students work together to utilize and create the information rather than just receiving it. Also, The Center’s thinking shifts the notion of trickle down economics, for example, instead of receiving scholarships for classes, students living in certain neighborhoods receive “access funds.” This change of terminology acknowledges the social inequities present from birth between members of different socio-economic backgrounds. STEMulus especially works to create an environment of equal opportunity for both genders by tipping gender imbalances within IT and business fields. As an AmeriCorps Vista with STEAM NM, Brent works to fight poverty in his home state of New Mexico through providing equal access to training and employment opportunities. His work with STEMulus Center reinforces his understanding that the accountability students take in their respective cohorts equivalates to the ownership they take over their future.
As part of the STEAM New Mexico initiative, Brent’s work at the STEMulus Center provides job training opportunities within IT and business fields for New Mexican residents. With titles such as, “Deep Dive Coding” and “IGNITE Community Accelerator,” these programs work to increase social equity through ownership of each participant's experience. The center fosters a welcoming environment of conversation and collaboration with a study/work area intentionally connected to a break room shared by students and staff. This open learning center brings peers together not in classes but in “cohorts.” Brent explains that the STEMulus center has developed an understanding of divergent student/teacher relationships. Students work together to utilize and create the information rather than just receiving it. Also, The Center’s thinking shifts the notion of trickle down economics, for example, instead of receiving scholarships for classes, students living in certain neighborhoods receive “access funds.” This change of terminology acknowledges the social inequities present from birth between members of different socio-economic backgrounds. STEMulus especially works to create an environment of equal opportunity for both genders by tipping gender imbalances within IT and business fields. As an AmeriCorps Vista with STEAM NM, Brent works to fight poverty in his home state of New Mexico through providing equal access to training and employment opportunities. His work with STEMulus Center reinforces his understanding that the accountability students take in their respective cohorts equivalates to the ownership they take over their future.