Hempfield High School will hold a STEM Summit on Wednesday, Nov. 8, and Thursday, Nov. 9, in partnership with Junior Achievement of South Central Pennsylvania (JASCPA). The summit will provide interactive learning modules for the school's freshmen on biology, chemistry, engineering, manufacturing, mathematics, physics, technology, and multiple trades. A light breakfast and lunch will be available for volunteers.

The summit relies on volunteers to run its activities; each volunteer will be assigned to one of the nine modules and will receive written instructions and a QR code for a training video. Working in unison, the volunteers at each station will lead their assigned 30-minute activity nine times throughout the day as groups of students rotate through the stations. A STEM background is not required to become a volunteer, and JASCPA encourages those participating to share their personal experiences and career path insights with students. "Any time there's a positive adult role model for our students, it doesn't matter what career field they're in," said Beth Becker, Hempfield High School's ninth-grade principal. "Working hand in hand with them is especially important for ninth-graders, who are thinking about their life after graduation in 2027."

Each day, the summit will have over 500 students participating and will require several volunteers to operate it. Volunteers are provided from school faculty and members of JASCPA, as well as local residents interested in assisting. The goal of the summit is to introduce students to different aspects of STEM and multiple trades. Since volunteers will be participating in a group setting, no clearances are required by the school district for volunteers, but they will be required to follow a code of conduct.

This is Hempfield High School's seventh year hosting the STEM Summit, which it introduced as part of its strategic plan to expose students to STEM careers that are in high demand. "I am fortunate that our district sees the value in this and is willing to allow us to provide it to students," Becker said. "I am thankful for our teachers who are willing to work with students and give up a day in the classroom. It's a huge team effort to make it happen, but in the end the rewards are very important."

The STEM Summit is one of many programs JASCPA offers for free in schools throughout Lancaster, York and Adams counties. Each program is tailored toward a specific age group and tackles a different subject. The REAL Life program is a financial literacy course for 11th- and 12th-grade students that provides an opportunity to gain experience creating budgets and navigating real-life scenarios. Another activity offered by JASCPA is the YES program, which educates middle school students on the importance of financial decisions in everyday life. JASCPA offers up to five different events per week throughout the area and requires over 3,000 volunteers each year to operate them. To become a volunteer for the STEM Summit at Hempfield, visit https://tinyurl.com/JASCPAsummit. To learn more about JASCPA, visit http://www.jascpa.org.