Photo By Sidney Hinds | SILVER SPRING, Md. (April 19, 2024) Lt. Cmdr. Sarah Jenkins and Lt. Cameron Sayer,...... read more read more
SILVER SPRING, Md. – Naval Medical Research Command (NMRC) participated in Weller Road Elementary School’s annual Career Day, held on April 19, to engage with students on jobs in STEM.
Lt. Cmdr. Sarah Jenkins and Lt. Cameron Sayer, active-duty researchers with NMRC, spent the day discussing their careers in Navy Medicine with 3rd, 4th and 5th graders.
“I hope they were inspired to see the different kinds of disciplines one can pursue in the military service and in the civilian sector,” Jenkins said, “and I hope they continue to ask questions, learn and explore all the possibilities available to them.”
The Career Day event was held in the school gymnasium, where NMRC and other local occupational representatives set up tables and displays. NMRC’s table included a prop biocontainment unit filled with activities that students could interact with through the unit’s built-in internal gloves, recreating how a scientist might handle samples of bacteria.
Jenkins remarked on the importance of introducing the sciences to children at an early age.
“I see a massive value in a student engaging in STEM because it builds so many skills and opens their minds to different opportunities in life,” Jenkins explained. “Exposing children to these disciplines at such a young age is essential to growing the next generation of leaders in these fields and professions.”
Jenkins and Sayer also related their own early interest in STEM, and how adult mentors and clubs fostered that interest.
“At home, my parents would do projects for us that made things so exciting and cool. It pushed me to build and learn new skill sets,” Jenkins said.
Sayer added, “It was around 4th or 5th grade that I first had the opportunity to attend after-school science clubs, which really propelled my interest in STEM from then on.”
Sayer also expressed enthusiasm that students could learn about unique career paths in and out of uniform at the event. He was struck by a very thoughtful 4th grader who asked him if he ‘felt like he could express himself through his work.’
“That was an interesting way of thinking about my career that I hadn’t given much consideration,” Sayer said. “It was great to hear kids excited to talk and ask questions of people of varying backgrounds and professions.”
Weller Road Elementary School, located a few miles from NMRC in Silver Spring, is part of the Wheaton cluster in the Downcounty Consortium and serves pre-kindergarten to fifth grade students.
In support of the Navy, Marine Corps and joint U.S. warfighters, NMRC researchers study infectious diseases, biological warfare detection and defense, combat casualty care, environmental health concerns, aerospace and undersea medicine, medical modeling, simulation, operational mission support, epidemiology and behavioral sciences.
| Date Taken: | 04.29.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 04.29.2024 15:11 |
| Story ID: | 469786 |
| Location: | SILVER SPRING, MD, US |
| Web Views: | 62 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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