FiERCE Program at Penn State Berks

A look at the FiERCE program at Penn State Berks with program creator Dr. Marietta Scanlon, Penn State Berks Professor; Joell Koller, 7th grade teacher at Reading Southern; and Nick Hill, PSU Berks student. With host Terri Hill from the Berks Business Education Coalition.

Transcript

SPEAKER_04 0:13

Welcome to another edition of the Burks Business Education Coalition podcast, where we connect education and industry to prepare today's future workforce. In each episode, we love to highlight the programs, people, and partnerships that help our students prepare for their careers after graduation. And one of the most impactful things that we can do is look to our higher education partners in our community to see how they're reaching out to our high schools and middle schools in order to help students understand what their career potential is. So today we are very happy to have an innovative program that is only offered at Penn State Burks campus of all the Penn States, so go Penn State Burks. And we have a founder, we have a teacher, and we have a student who participates in the program. Not because he visits the program, but because he works the program. So if you can each introduce yourself, we'll start with Dr. Scanlon at the end. Go ahead, Dr. Scanlon.

SPEAKER_02 1:14

Thanks for having me. I'm Marietta Scanlon. I'm an engineering professor at Penn State Burks. I am program chair of the Electromechanical Engineering Technology Program, and I'm also the founder of Penn State Fears. Okay, before we move on.

SPEAKER_01 1:28

Oh no, we'll move on. Go ahead, Joelle. Go ahead. My name is Joelle Culler. I am a seventh grade science teacher at Southern Middle School in the Reading School District.

SPEAKER_00 1:38

All right, and uh I am Nicholas Hill. I'm currently a fourth year student at Penn State Burks in the electromechanical engineering technology program.

SPEAKER_04 1:46

Do you want me to call you Nicholas? I have Nick on my Nick's okay. Is Nick okay? Okay. Well, Nick or Nicholas is sitting next to me. So uh so my first question, because I was really interested in this unique program. Um and I won't even say what it is. It's called Fierce. I won't even say what it means because I'm gonna go back to Dr. Scanlon, who founded this program. And you if you can tell us about the origin of this program, what made you start it, what was the problem you were trying to solve?

SPEAKER_02 2:14

Sure. So my degree is in engineering, chemical engineering, and I've always been curious why there were so few women in engineering, both from when I was in school, but also as a professor. Thirty years later, there's still a really low number of women in engineering, and that always has intrigued me and made me curious. So fear started with the maybe a research question of why are there so few women in engineering, especially because over the past 10 to 15 years there's been such an effort in STEM and getting kids interested in STEM and so many activities centered around STEM, but in the past 15 years, the number of women really hasn't increased. So it started as a research project. It started with a grant from the Engineering Information Foundation to really focus on females in engineering. So Fierce originally stood for females in engineering, role models can empower. And the research indicated that the most powerful way to get young kids, particularly females, interested in STEM and engineering is to expose them to really strong role models. More so than having STEM activities or one-off interactions, but to just pair them and partner them with role models. So that's where fear started.

SPEAKER_04 3:41

So before we go on, why did you choose seventh grade or that middle school age as the time frame where this program would have the most impact?

SPEAKER_02 3:51

Yeah, so again, based on the research and and my you know investigations into it, seventh grade is really a critical time in a kid's academic progression. It's where they kind of self-select. They make a decision, I can do this or I can't, I'm interested, I'm not. It's a lot of it is a self-confidence thing. And really being able to make the decision that, you know, I c I like engineering, I like STEM, but I'm not sure I can do it. Right? So focusing on seventh grade, exposing these kids to really powerful engineering role models helps them to make that decision that, yeah, I can do it, I like this, I'm gonna persist in it.

SPEAKER_04 4:35

That's awesome. Thank you for doing that. Before I get to you two, I do have one more question because you have said that the program has evolved and changed. How many people participated the first year? And it was primarily females, right? Um, and what does it look like today?

SPEAKER_02 4:50

So the first year we did it, it was uh female Penn State students, so there were probably seven or eight maybe, and it was a group of female students from St. Ignatius Loyola School, and there were maybe 20 of those. So the first year was uh 28, 30 at the most students. It has since evolved to this year, well, over the past several years, we have worked with uh usually about 300 to 350 students a year. Wow, and there are close to 30 Penn State students who participate as well. So it's really grown. We're a our reach is really, really phenomenal, and it's it's really amazing what it's turned into.

SPEAKER_04 5:38

And I'm gonna jump to Nick, and the reason I'm jumping to Nick is because in your description of the program you talked about the mentorship. And I believe that is your role.

SPEAKER_00 5:49

Yes, that's true.

SPEAKER_04 5:50

Okay, so um, first of all, um when you can you explain what engineering you're studying and what made you want to be a part of this program? What drew you to this program?

SPEAKER_00 6:01

Sure. Um so I am doing electromechanical engineering technology right now, and when you say program, do you mean like the EMET program, Penn State Burks, or the Fierce program?

SPEAKER_04 6:10

The Fierce program.

SPEAKER_00 6:11

The Fierce program. For me, I'll be honest, it was uh because I grew up in a somewhat smallish school district back in uh Fleetwood. And one big thing that I wish I had in high school was a chance to do more engineering type work. Um there were a few classes that we had that maybe had you doing some metalworking, woodworking, things like that, but we had no circuits classes, we really had no programming classes, things like that. And uh I wish we had some sort of outreach back then for when I was going through school that you know would have given us this opportunity. So when I heard that this was something that I could be a part of going through college, it really stuck out to me. And that's really what got me interested in the first place.

SPEAKER_04 6:51

And how many years have you participated in the program?

SPEAKER_00 6:53

This has been my fourth year now. I've done it all throughout college.

SPEAKER_04 6:56

Congratulations and thank you. Because I know I know the program is dependent on the interests of the college students. If we didn't have the college students as mentors, this program could not happen. Um, and we will talk we will talk about the power of that relationship with the students in a moment, but we will now go to Joelle, who's been quiet. So, Joelle, yes, can you please share? You know, you shared with me earlier about you have you're very intentional about making sure you get students out to this opportunity. Um, can you share how many students, why you do it, what do you like about the program?

SPEAKER_01 7:32

So we take about 25 students a month, and we try to get there at least four, maybe five months a year, where we can open it up to every student eligible to go in seventh grade. And it works really well with them having a small group of mentors that they take these kids under their wings and they are able to have a really like intimate relationship with them and they can talk to them about you know what they like and their likes and dislikes and all and all that, and it just it lets these kids kind of open up away from what they're used to seeing in in my classroom. I know one of the things you said is um some some of the activities are competitive.

SPEAKER_04 8:12

Oh, yes. Okay, and um I I know the students seem to be, you have mentioned that they seem to be much more invested in their success because it's not you at the head of the in a classroom where it's a little bit more maybe lecture-based or book-based.

SPEAKER_01 8:31

Here it is all hands-on and it's all application where they're asked or given a skill to do and they they work at it. So where I have kids who are very shy and quiet in my classroom, take the lead when we go there, and it's amazing to see the other side of them and really come out of their shell, and then we go back and they're like, Miss, I want to go back. That was so much fun. I'm going to college there. And I'm like, yes, that's what we want to do. And they absolutely love going. Oh, that's fantastic.

SPEAKER_04 8:58

Now, on the flip side, I mean, I did ask at some point, you're gonna each share a success story, but have you also on the flip side seen some students that say, you know what, this just makes sure like I engineering is not for me. Like, has that also happened as well? Or is it all all roses and buttercups and everybody thinks it's wonderful and butterflies?

SPEAKER_01 9:19

The reality of it is there are some kids who are like, it was okay, but it's just not not my thing. We have tried some coding stuff, and that was out of my my range. It was kind of over my head, and the kids were like, it was okay. I enjoyed going, but it was something that they just didn't feel like they would want to be part of in their future.

SPEAKER_04 9:41

Well, you know, I think the the uh for the student, I don't know if they are able to at that age, although the ones that are very enthusiastic, I think it's very easy for them to say, Oh, now I know what I want to do, or here's where I want to go. I think the students who don't have that same enthusiasm after the experience, um it's just as powerful for them to have had exposure and to understand it's not a fit for them and to maybe then look for an alternative in that in that space. So I know Reading has a lot of opportunities for students to continue their exploration, so I hope they kind of use that information to guide them as to where they can they can go next.

SPEAKER_02 10:18

Um if I could jump in. Yes, please, Dr. Stan. So it's interesting because the the overarching goal is focused on STEM and engineering, but that's really not our goal when we run these programs. The goal is to impact these kids. It's just as powerful for them to say, I like STEM and engineering as it is for them to say I don't like STEM and engineering. And really what we want to do is expose them to the college environment because if they see, oh wait, they come in and they're intimidated, I'm on a college campus, I'm with college kids, this is a really scary experience. And by the time they leave, they say, wait, that wasn't that bad, and college isn't that scary anymore, and I think I can do this, that's really our goal.

SPEAKER_04 11:06

I think that's really, really, really powerful. Um, I I'm gonna I'm gonna shift a little bit. I know we talked about one of the activities that they do, but we had some fun stories about the activities that they do. So uh Nick, I know as a mentor, uh like first of all, tell me about your responsibilities as a mentor within the program. What does that look like? Sure.

SPEAKER_00 11:24

Um so for the first two years that I was working uh with the Fierce organization, I was just what we called a lion, which is the general like mentor group of people. Um that's if you just start, you'll be a lion. Um and the idea there is you will have your group of students that comes in and you are given what the activity is beforehand, and your entire role there is just to guide them along and make sure that you know they're they're figuring it out. If they get stuck, you can help out, but you don't give them the answer. The idea is they have to think, they have to see, you know, if this is what they're interested in, that kind of thing. Um and on top of that, like Dr. Scanl was saying, it's not just the activity. There's a lot more. Like we have a campus tour, we have our kind of like brainstorming activity, and you know, I think I can't figure you call it, but food. Yeah, all that kind of stuff. Uh and and and those things, you know, they talk to us about what they like to do, you know, what they are interested in. We ask them what their favorite subjects are in school, things like that. And I I think that honestly sometimes is more important than you know getting into the end of the activity and having them, you know, solve a problem because they get to, you know, learn more about what we do as college students and see if that's for them, as Dr. Scanl was saying. And I think that's super important.

SPEAKER_04 12:39

I I really, really like that. I I like all about that. But um so now I'm going back to the activity, because I know you're act you're part of it. Yes. And you were sharing the fun stories about the activity of how um there's power in getting the students to be quiet, there's different restrictions that are placed on them, and they all listen and they all adhere to those. So who wants to share the activity and some of like what what that does for the students as they're as they're participating? I I love especially if please let me please share the the um penalty for not being quiet, which I I do like.

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Yeah, sure. Okay. So um excuse me. We do break it up into two different main activities. There's the first one, which is kind of an icebreaker almost, where it's a cup stacking thing. You have red solo cups and you have rubber bands with string attached to them, and the entire idea is each student gets one of the strings and you have um the lines there as well, the Penn State students that will hold you usually one of the ends. And the idea is you have to stretch them out to grab the cups and stack them into certain configurations that will show on the screen. Um and at first it seems kind of difficult, but if you get the hang of it, you know, talking through how it's working, it becomes pretty straightforward. Um and the the part that makes it more fun towards the end is we do have challenges for them. On top of just getting the cups into a certain configuration, you also have to use one hand or you can't talk. And the can't talking one, I think, is uh very funny most of the time because the students they'll they'll do it.

SPEAKER_01 14:04

Um and it's they won't talk is what you're saying. Okay. And that's what blows my mind because uh I try to get them to not talk all day long. And you're just like, hey, don't talk, give this a try. And it's they're silent.

SPEAKER_02 14:17

And there's a lot of pointing and a lot of shushing, but no talking.

SPEAKER_00 14:21

Yeah, they will not talk. Um and and one of the penalties for them talking, which I think makes it you know even better, is we do have one of our students, his name is Lucas. He'll come by with his hat he always wears, and he tells them if they talk, he's gonna throw it at their stack of cups, and then although of course all fall, they have to start from scratch. So that's another thing that keeps them from talking because they want to win. It's a pretty competitive thing to start out with, and it helps because a lot of the students know each other and uh they'll get into groups of people that they they know for the most part, so they'll work together and you know they'll try to beat the other teams of kids that they know.

SPEAKER_04 14:53

Well, before we we move past the activity, one of the things, uh Joel, that you had mentioned earlier was you as a you're observing these kids, right? So we talked about them being quiet, which was one thing that you were excited about. But there were other things that you saw students come out of their shell. So I know that's gonna be your success story. So can you share that with us about how they just what what it what impact it has on the students to become part of a team and to work though do those things together and what you've what you've observed?

SPEAKER_01 15:24

So a lot of times in the classroom, they are the shy, quiet ones, and they're like maybe uh a more of like an audio learner. But now when you have to physically get involved in it and help each other out, they're the ones that'll be like and and they they know what they need to do, but their voices might not always be heard in the classroom, but they take lead there, and it's so wonderful to see these kids who aren't comfortable in a classroom speaking up to be there and to lead everything, and and it's it is, it's really wonderful. I love that.

SPEAKER_04 15:58

I love that. So we're gonna continue on the success bandwagon at this point. Who wants to go next with the success story?

SPEAKER_02 16:04

Well, I'll jump in to add to what Joelle said. You know, the the perspective is that it's a program that benefits younger kids, but really I also see huge benefits for the Penn State kids, and for me that's one of the success stories. And Nick talked about the first two years and how he was a lion. That's the Penn State mascot, is the Nittany Lion. So our students are the lions and the younger kids are the Cubs, and that's how we refer to them. But after the second year, Nick kind of was elevated to a captain status. So within Penn State, in the Fierce program, we have captains who are kind of the project managers and the lions, and so the captains are really we meet once a week, we talk about the programming, we make the plans. But all of this Penn State students are really learning how to be leaders and to interact with kids. And sometimes it's tricky. Like if they are paired with students who don't want to talk or don't want to participate, they have to figure out how to bring those students out of their shell. We always tell I always tell the Penn State students, don't give them answers, encourage them. Everything you say will be positive, so figure out how to say it in a positive way. And like empower them. If you see students who aren't participating, find a way to encourage them to participate. I think the growth I see with the Penn State students is also a big success success story.

SPEAKER_04 17:38

And I will say, I mean, engineering, if somebody said you wanted to be an engineer, right, when they you kind of uh think of that person as being uh very studious, very quiet, and and not accustomed or comfortable working in a social setting, right? It's kind of like a little bit awkward. Um not that you are, Nick. You are you are definitely against the the stereotype. But there is there is kind of that stereotype. So I I think what to your point is that this program allows them to blossom beyond that, right? So they they get to become that um that mentor. And I I don't know, I would think also being able to share their knowledge makes them feel more confident, I would think as well. I would I would guess. Yeah. Um any other success stories? I know you have success stories.

SPEAKER_00 18:25

Yeah, I'd say honestly, one of the biggest things that has made me just love what I do at Fierce even more is um this past fall, we have a club rush that runs every fall where all the clubs go out and they try to recruit people, you know, especially new students that want to come through and get active on campus. And I go for two different clubs that I'm part of, but I spend most of my time over with the Fierce booth. And when I was there this past fall, um I had a student come up who's a first-year student, and he actually picked me out of the crowd right away, came over and he asked where the fierce booth was, because I wasn't there at the time. And I brought him over there, and he told me that he he knows me from one of the events. He was a high school student that we actually did, I think it was a toy adaptability project with. And um he knew who I was, he knew what Fierce was all about, and he told me that he actually came to Penn State Burks because of his experiences that he had in high school with the Fierce students. So just that blew my mind. I I honestly never imagined I'd see somebody else again that I worked with before, and that was just uh amazing for me. That made me so much happier to be doing what I was doing.

SPEAKER_04 19:31

You know, and and the program's not that old. So you think about it, it's only 10 years old. Um so for somebody to that quickly come into the Penn State family is is kind of amazing. That's that's really cool. It must have been an early person, I believe.

SPEAKER_00 19:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 19:45

Yeah, yeah, yeah, must have been. Um so uh Dr. Scanlon, we had talked a little bit about the capacity for the program and what's how many school districts are you currently working with. So uh can you share with me like since your your initial pilot, which was with St. Ignatius? Obviously, we know Reading Southern is um an advocate and they've been going there how three years now. Uh so that's 300 students. About. Yeah, that's fantastic. So if you can share, you know, where are you now and where do you think it can grow to?

SPEAKER_02 20:18

Yeah, so uh the the nice thing about Fierce is that it's contained so there's a lot of flexibility, which means that if I contact a school or a school contacts me, then I can make the decision, yeah, we're gonna work with that school. So over the years we have worked with I'm gonna say so many schools in Berks County, varied. Um we worked with St. Ignatius and then St. Peter's at the beginning and writing Southern. We've been to Glenside and done activities with third graders, um, 105 third graders at once, which was pretty exciting. We've had fifth graders come to campus from different school districts. We've had lots of high school activities during Engineers Week and outside of that. So I think it would be a long list of schools that we've worked with in Berks County. But the nice thing is that if there's an interest, if anyone sees this and is like, oh, I want to get involved, all they have to do is reach out to me and and we can figure out how to schedule it.

SPEAKER_04 21:22

So it sounds like it's a standalone. So you can customize it and you can make it work. Absolutely. So it doesn't, it's not like we run it from X to Y.

SPEAKER_02 21:30

Absolutely. And the content is flexible as well. Okay. I actually just talked to uh people at the Innovation Academy about trying to set something up for next year for high school kids. And we're talking about what the content might look like. So there's a lot of flexibility. We run the Toy Adaptability Project, which we've referred to. We work with the BCIU and like three or four school districts to adapt toys for kids who are differently able to. Be able to uh turn the toy on and off by themselves. So that's another example.

SPEAKER_04 22:05

And that's I have I I had shared with you earlier that I had witnessed that I was at a meeting at Fleetwood, and there was a student that was presenting the adaptive toy that they had done that they had made through the program, and I'm like, hmm, that sounds familiar, but I'm not sure what that is. So it's really interesting to see how it all comes together. And that was a boy, so I was confused initially because I thought it was a female thing. So okay, right.

SPEAKER_02 22:28

So we So what we didn't talk about yet is what started as females in engineering has transformed because the impact of the program is so powerful that it's important to allow both boys and girls to participate. So the F now stands for futures in engineering, not females in engineering.

SPEAKER_04 22:46

Ah, I love that. I love that. Um and how many students do you think you impact just generally?

SPEAKER_02 22:53

In a year, maybe? Probably close to 400 students a year. Wow. With all the different groups that we bring in.

SPEAKER_04 23:01

That's fabulous. I really appreciate that. So I know we're coming close to the conclusion, and so before I do wrap this up, I would like each of you to just share if there's something that I missed that you would love to share about the program that you would like to highlight that we haven't talked about yet, please feel free to do so now. Who wants to be on the fence? Right. Who wants to be the first one? First one, first one first. I'll go first. Okay, thanks.

SPEAKER_01 23:26

Um one thing I do notice working with the mentors is they'll look at me and they'll go, Oh my god, I don't know how you can be a teacher. And I look at them and go, I don't know. I don't know how you can be an engineer. But by the end of the day, they take those kids and they are teachers to them. They just don't know it. And I really think they do a great job. Like he's graduating, and I've worked with him for three years, and I'm really sad to see him go. I I'm glad he's graduated and moving on, but there are gonna be some big shoes to fill when Nick leaves.

SPEAKER_00 23:54

Nick. That's so I've been told.

SPEAKER_02 23:57

Yeah, but I know where he's gonna be, so somewhere local I can find him.

SPEAKER_04 24:02

Okay, so so Nick, be before we have the other information, obviously we want to know where you're gonna be.

SPEAKER_00 24:08

Okay. Uh so after I graduate, I do plan on working full-time at Lutron Electronics over in Coopersburg. I'll be an electronics engineering technician for them.

SPEAKER_04 24:18

Well, that's driving distance to this area, so I'm not sure. It's not too far. It's not that far. I I can understand that. Uh so who wants to go next on anything that I that they'd like to add or contribute to the end of the program?

SPEAKER_02 24:30

I'll just add that you know, the impact that we make and the power of role models, you shouldn't underestimate that. So whether it's a formal program like Fierce or an informal, you know, getting kids exposed to role models in some way is so important. I love that. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 24:49

Anything, Nick, that you'd like to add? I think it's been covered.

SPEAKER_00 24:52

Yeah, it's just a great program, and I'm glad that I could have been part of it about four years here.

SPEAKER_03 24:55

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 24:56

So I'd like to thank Dr. Scanlon, Ms. Kohler, and Mr. Hill. That's formal. So we'll go Marietta, Joelle, and Nick. Nick or Nicholas for being here today and sharing the power of the Fierce program. I love the acronym. I mean, I just think that is the kids must love it. But so before we any like chotchkis or little things that they get to put the name Fierce on it?

SPEAKER_02 25:23

Not really. Penn State needs to step it up.

SPEAKER_04 25:26

Talk to them about that. We'll have to talk to them. They need to get them some some some kind of swag because I think it's really cool to say I I I am Fierce or I've been true. Yeah, I think it's great. So thank you again for joining us for another BBEC podcast highlighting the Fierce program at Penn State Burks, and I really appreciate Mrs. Kohler for coming here from uh Reading Southern. And if you are interested, is there any opportunities for our businesses to participate in any of this?

SPEAKER_02 25:55

Oh, there are always opportunities for businesses. So if if it's a program that you think is worthy of um following up with, then I'm always willing to have businesses contact me. Um we have some sponsors. There's always opportunities for sponsorship. But also for for events like if we have high school kids and we can bring someone in to talk to the high school kids, that's also an opportunity. So I do want to go back to closing.

SPEAKER_04 26:26

So I kind of this poor guys in the studio are like, what? She thought she started to close and then she stopped closing. Um but I wanted to make sure that at the end of this, if you have any interest in participating or being a part of this powerful program, please reach out to Dr. Scanlon at Penn State Burks. You'll find her information on the Penn State Burks website. Um, Nick, I wish you the very best. Joelle, thank you so much for participating and for encouraging your students to be part of the program. And we want to thank you for tuning in. Thank you.