Services to Youth

In response to the increasing under-representation of ethnic and gender minorities in STEM-related careers, Missouri City of The Links, Inc. and its partners have implemented a two-dimensional field and practical laboratory experiences program designed to provide eighth-grade students from Ryan Middle School and ninth-grade E-STEM Academy students with experiential and in-service learning leading to careers in the STEM fields as well as in careers requiring STEM applications in the visual and performing arts.

The ultimate goal is to increase the number of ethnic and gender minorities in STEM and STEM-related careers by providing experiences that increase the awareness of and interest in career preparation, by providing experiences that stimulate aesthetic appreciation and link STEM-related competencies to the arts and by providing experiences which provide insight into post-secondary education in Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).

 

STEM-ulating Healthy Choices for Teens
For the past four years, the Missouri City Chapter of The Links, Inc. and its partners have sponsored health forums, incorporating an arts component, that address the enormous health and social challenges confronted by teens. Under the umbrella of the STEM-ulation Left Brain-Right Brain program, Healthy Choices for Teens was broadened in 2009 to provide students with information on related medical implications and the need for more minorities in the prospective medical disciplines.

Regardless of educational level, income, or lifestyle, the well-being of Houston’s teens is highly impacted by both tremendous social and environmental factors. This project continues to provide teens with information about dealing with the social impact of today’s challenges. The teens will be provided with suggested decision-making and coping skills that will allow them to emerge as healthy young adults in the mind, body and soul. In addition to interactive discussions, teens will meet medical professionals and receive information concerning careers in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematic fields that address current and future medical challenges as they relate to minorities.

 

STEM-ulating College for a Day
The Missouri City Chapter of The Links, Inc., The Choice Foundation, Inc., Aspiring Youth of Houston, and Texas Southern University collaborated in 2009 to provide the 11th Annual “College For A Day: STEM-ulating the Next Generation of Creative STEM Professionals and Community Leaders”, a day-long experience with an emphasis on Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (S.T.E.M.).

The STEM-ulating College For A Day program is designed to meet six primary objectives: 1) emphasize to middle school and high school students that college is both desirable and possible; 2) provide ninth-graders with requirements for successful admissions into a four-year college and provide eighth-graders with viable high school STEM magnet programs to consider; 3) provide creative STEM-related career choices, in which under-represented minorities participate in interactive career expositions presented by minority and women STEM-related professionals; 4) prepare students to be successful in mastering the Texas Assessement of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) Test in the areas of mathematics, science and reading; 5) provide opportunities for the students to express themselves creatively in a public forum; 6) promote the benefits of attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities through interaction with professors, administrators, students, and graduates through a campus tour.