American Testing Services has had some special guests this week – three recipients of the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship:  Cynthia Parsons, Sarah Lord, and Ravin Pandey.

There are a total of 11 students at the University of Dayton who have been awarded a fellowship through this national program.  All have a background in STEM industries and are finishing up an intensive 14 month master’s degree program.  They will graduate with a Master’s in Education degree and a teaching license.  Each of the 11 will spend 3 years or more teaching STEM subjects in lower income school districts.  Cynthia and Sarah will both teach math, while Ravin will teach Physics.

A part of the program is for these future educators to visit local companies and see how the STEM subjects they will be teaching are applicable in the workplace.  This will help them to make their lessons more relevant to their students and answer the inevitable questions of “Why do I need to learn this?  When will I ever use this in the real world?”  The 11 students have been spread across 5 locations this week.  They will all write a lesson plan based on things they observed and will prepare a presentation for their professors and peers.

Everyone at ATS was glad to share what we do with Cynthia, Sarah, and Ravin and to show them how we use math and science every day.  We applaud the University of Dayton and the Woodrow Wilson Fellowship Program for the positive role they are playing in bridging the skills gap we are facing in the manufacturing industry.