Members from Mid-Atlantic Regional Maintenance Center (MARMC) participated as judges in Heritage High School's annual Science Fair, which is part of the school's Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Academy, in Newport News, Va., Dec. 9.

MARMC and Heritage High School established a Memorandum of Understanding in 2012 based on Naval Sea Systems Command's (NAVSEA's) initiative to develop a student outreach program to help increase the number of high school students entering engineering and technical fields.

"MARMC has been a great support system for our Governor's STEM Academy," said Heritage High School Governor's STEM Academy and University Magnet Program Administrator Chinell Callwood. "They have offered volunteers not only to help with our summer programs where they give students insight into industry requirements in the field of Information Technology, programming and other STEM related careers, but they also come to the science fairs to assist with judging the various categories. We are extremely fortunate to have this relationship with an industry partner that really focuses on STEM careers."

"Ultimately, MARMC wants to influence and draw from the young talent pool we have in the area when it comes to hiring our future workforce," said MARMC Recruiter Ashlee Babb. "That is why it is important for MARMC to have a presence at events like these, so that when these students get ready to graduate and are looking for a career in the sciences, MARMC will be one of the potential places for them to seek out that opportunity."

This year's science fair saw entries in 11 different areas of concentration including Engineering, Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, Medicine, Physics and Anatomy. Students were given the opportunity to present their experiments and outcomes with one of the many industry partner judges on hand.

"One of the important things about being here today is to teach the kids that even as you rise up to the next level, there is still interest at the lower levels," said MARMC Petty Officer 1st Class Kellie Everett, who was on hand to serve as a judge in the area of Chemistry. "It is good for them to know, as they come up, someone has been looking out and helping define a path for them to follow and they don't have to feel like they are climbing the ladder on their own."

Part of MARMC's Strategic Business Plan is to foster workforce sustainability at the command. One of the best ways to do this is by recruiting students in the community who have an interest in learning the skills sets that go along with maintaining Navy ships on the waterfront.

"A lot of times we think of the military as people who go fight and become war heroes. What a lot of people don't take into account is that the Navy is one of the top technology demanding careers. Almost every rate has to go through some sort of A school or C school to gain the knowledge. Having high school as a base for that learning in the STEM fields will help students excel and promote later on. By promoting STEM programs in high school, we are actually promoting the future of the Navy," said Everett.

"These interactions have made a huge impact on the students. Having the chance to speak to people who are already in the industry working in careers that they aspire to go into once they graduate high school or college, it allows them to see the big picture and what sort of job and people skills they are going to need," said Callwood.

Since Heritage High School's opening in 1996, the school has had some form of student science fair. This year, the city-wide science fair will also be held at Heritage at the end of January. Winners of each category will move on to that city-wide science fair and have the chance to compete to earn a place at the district science fair held at Tidewater Community College near the end of the school year.

"The students do a great job of interacting with us; they will come up and ask if there is anything available at MARMC. If we have internships, we reach out to them and let them know what is available. We want to facilitate a learning environment for these schools and their students, so they can potentially come back to us," said Babb.

Currently, MARMC is continuing to develop programs that would accommodate summer hires and other worker/helper training programs that will assist students with hands on skill sets.


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