Astronauts and award-winning educators inspire future teachers to bring science, technology, engineering, arts and math into their classrooms
K-State’s Forum Hall is buzzing with eager chatter as students and faculty members from the College of Education file in, dressed in business professional attire. The Education Symposium — the largest student event hosted by the College of Education — is kicked off by Roger and Liz Rea’s inspirational STEAM Speaker Series.
“The effect the speaker series has on students is amazing to see,” said Assistant Dean Roger Schieferecke. “The energy is palpable, and the students engage meaningfully with the content, get inspired and leave motivated to encourage their future students to explore STEAM.”
Roger and Liz Rea are lifelong educators committed to emboldening future teachers to incorporate STEAM education into their classrooms. They share extensive backgrounds in education and community service, with a total of 63 years of teaching experience between the two of them. They believe that learning more about STEAM will help young people prepare for the future in a technologically complex world.
Super speakers
Every year, the college chooses one accomplished speaker to inspire education majors from freshmen to student teachers. One year’s speaker, attained by Roger’s connection to NASA, was retired U.S. astronaut Clayton C. Anderson. After applying for an astronaut position 15 times, he finally got the job and spent 167 days in space. His amazing speech encouraged persistence, leadership, teamwork, and passion in science and technology related fields.
“The STEAM speaker series showed me that students need to learn and grow in the areas of science and technology,” said Lauren Walker, a senior in elementary education. “Our world is changing so rapidly in those areas, and it is important that students are aware of that and get the opportunities to explore those fields.”
Walker attended the STEAM speaker series featuring Cassie Banka, a former Kansas Teacher of the Year and the current Director of the IDEA Space KC. A leader in STEAM education, Banka shared the ups and downs of teaching, inspiring perseverance in the student audience.
“It was really cool to hear from someone who is well into their education career,” said Walker. “It’s not an easy job, but the hard days are worth it to see students pursuing their dreams, learning and growing.”
By Kate Ellwood