A Middle Schooler’s Guide to STEM Involvement
Middle school can be a very scary place. Believe me, as a high school student, I know exactly what you’ve been through. With a new environment, harder classes, and a popularity hierarchy that seemed to come out of nowhere, everything can seem extremely chaotic. Amongst all this mess, it can be hard to find ways to exercise the one thing that you truly love: STEM! My passion for STEM started and grew when I was in middle school because of the opportunities I took up, and if you follow these steps, hopefully the same can happen for you! Here’s my advice for middle schoolers looking for ways to get more involved in STEM.
Advanced Classes
If you feel strong in your math and science abilities, don’t be afraid to take advanced classes in these subjects. Many middle schools offer Pre-AP, GT, or other kinds of advanced classes for their students. Some schools even offer accelerated math or science classes that let you take high school level classes as a middle schooler! This way, you can get ahead in your high school studies in the future. You can ask your counselor for more information.
STEM Clubs
Many schools offer STEM based clubs that you can join. For example, you can become a member of Science Olympiad, the coding club, the robotics team, the mathletes, and so much more! STEM clubs are a great way to make new friends and have some fun after school. If you become very involved in one of these activities, you can even take on a leadership position in the future!
Personal Projects
If these opportunities are unavailable to you, or if you’re looking for a way to get even more involved in STEM at your age, you can lead your own project at your own pace. You can learn a new coding language, create a game or app, build a robot, or lead your own investigation! The possibilities are endless here! However, make sure that you keep your project and classes at school balanced out.
Props for you for being such a motivated student at such a young age! Now go out there and have some fun through STEM!
BY: Dana Garibaldi
