Weekly Media Roundup: January 17, 2024

Bessie Coleman After School Aviation Program to be Tested in Oklahoma, General Aviation News (Oklahoma)

Sixth and 7th graders in Tulsa, Oklahoma are exploring careers in aerospace and aeronautics by building planes, flying drones, and participating in other hands-on projects thanks to a partnership with Bessie Coleman Aviation All-Stars. “Aerospace is Oklahoma’s fastest growing industry, and it’s important we provide as many educational opportunities as possible so our students can learn about the incredible career opportunities available in the various aviation fields right here in our state. The earlier young people are exposed to the world of aeronautics, the more likely they are to take STEM-related classes and gain the tools and knowledge needed to successfully pursue a career in this exciting industry,” Oklahoma State Senator Adam Pugh told General Aviation News. The new program is supported by the state Department of Aerospace and Aeronautics and offered at three Tulsa public schools. 

Guest Column: Girls Inc. Embraces Girls with Circle of Care, Education, Telegram & Gazette (Massachusetts)

In the wake of the pandemic, nearly 60 percent of girls in the United States report feelings of persistent sadness or hopelessness. In a recent guest column for the Telegram & Gazette, Girls Inc. of Worcester CEO Tiffany Lillie shares how afterschool programs such as Girls Inc. can support girls’ emotional wellbeing by helping connect them with friends, mentors and professional support. “Many of our girls are learning how to express emotion and how to share with others any issues they’re having,” Lillie writes. “We make sure they know they have people who care and are supporting them.”

MAPS Media Institute Wins Emmy, Arts Program Inspires High School Kids Across State, NBC Montana (Montana)

For nearly 20 years, Media Arts In The Public Schools (MAPS) has provided free filmmaking afterschool programs to high school students in Hamilton, Montana. MAPS recently received an Emmy Award for cultivating students’ interests in the arts. “We’re helping these students learn how to take an idea or a skill, and how to transfer those into something, whether that be a screenplay, a film, a song, or a piece of digital art,” MAPS Executive Director Clare Ann Harff told NBC Montana. “Any of those skills learned can be applied to anything they go into.” The program has expanded to Helena, Thompson Falls, Fort Belknap, the Flathead Indian Reservation, and other Tribal communities.

Rescue Me Project Receives New STEM Classroom Tools to Further Students’ Education, WAFF 48 (Alabama)

Thanks to a donation from the Tennessee Valley Authority and the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, students in the Rescue Me Project afterschool program will take part in hands-on STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) projects using Chromebooks, 3-D printers, and more. The program is one of five to receive a new STEM classroom as part of the initiative. “It’s planting a seed in their life that’s something that they may not have been exposed to,” Rescue Me Project Founder and Director Dewayne Malone told WAFF 48. “You don’t know that you like some things until you’re exposed to [them]. So it gives us another opportunity to expose them to something that could potentially be a career path for them.”