March 29, 2012

Contact: Lesley Fry (419) 995-8671 or Pam Joseph (419) 995-8284

ÔIt’s About Discovery’ students concentrate on STEM careers with visit to Husky

Students from Perry High School will visit Husky Energy, 1150 South Metcalf Street, from 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Mon., April 2, 2012, as part of a nationwide effort to encourage young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

The tenth grade science class is part of "It’s About Discovery," an Ohio State Lima led and National Science Foundation-funded program that engages high school students and their teachers in critical thinking skills that focus on Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics, or STEM, content areas. One of the goals of the program is to connect students and their learning with community partners that have STEM-related business interests. Students will come away with a real-world application of their classroom curriculum and knowledge of possible STEM career options.

The Husky team and Dave Pepple, Perry High School science teacher, have designed a site visit with hands-on activities that will expose students to the different types of STEM careers at Husky and also allow them to link their classroom learning to real-world applications.

The students have heard from a variety of Husky engineers in their school this week, as part of the seven-week long unit funded by the grant. The goal of these classroom visits was to make these careers look appealing, accessible and relatable to students. The site visit, which kicks off week three, gives the students a unique learning environment to see what engineering, creativity, and critical thinking can accomplish outside of the classroom. Most importantly, it shows the students that they are capable of succeeding in an engineering field.

The Husky contact is Patrick Conrath. He can be reached at (419) 226-2491.

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