MSU STEM Day Inspires JROTC Students

STARKVILLE, Miss. (WCBI) – Mississippi State University played host to the 10th annual JROTC STEM Day.

Every year students from Jackson public schools come to MSU to present their scientific research in the field of Geosciences.

The students that participated in the program are the top presenters from each high school in the Jackson public school area.

They put on various sketches, music videos, and performances to help educate the audience on the world of Geoscience.

“We’re trying to expose our students to career opportunities in the STEM, Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics field,” says JROTC Director Col. Paul Willis. 

The competition is centered around educating students and audience members on the importance of Geoscience.

“We’re teaching people about fault lines and how they create earth quakes,” says Murrah High School student Makayla Summers. 

“My project is going to be on how we can effect world hunger through increasing our soil quality,” says Murrah High School student Matthew Jackson.

“There are no building codes for fault lines, and we are on a really big one,” says Summers. 

But the program isn’t all about Geoscience. For many students, this was their first time visiting a college campus.

“It’s their first experience to really see and feel what it’s like to be on a campus and to really take seriously what their opportunities and options are after highschool,” says MSU Geoscience graduate student Caleb Carlton.

“I want them to walk away with a sense of awareness. Awareness of opportunities and responsibilities,” says Willis. 

Students say what they learned through the JROTC program and the STEM competition day will guide their decision making process when the time comes to go to college.

“It’s gets people to know hey, I don’t have to do what I thought I originally had, I can go many separate ways…I didn’t want to major in a branch of science but thanks to this program it helped me do some fine tuning to my plans,” says Jackson. 

“These students have great potential and all they need are the opportunities to develop the potential they have,” says Willis. 

The winning team from the competition will be showcased at the Mississippi Academy of Sciences.

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