Paul Agarwal, Vice Chair of the STEDTRAIN Committee, hosted the 2022-23 Seed Grants - Final Report Conference on Saturday, 29 April 2023 via a virtual videoconference sponsored by Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), one of STEDTRAIN’s valued donors.

The STEDTRAIN final report conference provides the teachers with an end-of-school-year opportunity to discuss the goals of their STEM grants and to proudly show the results of their student’s hard work during the year. The conference also provides an opportunity to network and brainstorm with the other STEM teachers who won STETRAIN grants for the 2022-2023 school year.

Mr. Chris Bero, the event’s featured speaker, spoke to the teachers about his experience as a student participating in a STEDTRAIN-funded Seed Grant that had been awarded to his teacher, Mrs. Robin Dauma, back when he was in middle school. Chris discussed how that grant positively influenced his STEM-based career choices. Robin Dauma recently retired as a school teacher and is now a member of the STEDTRAIN Committee.

Chris titled his presentation, "STEDTRAIN's Impact: Screwdrivers to Soldering Irons, Educational Opportunities Matter." He said his introduction to STEM-focused instruction in middle school was one of the crucial factors that helped guide his educational trajectory during high school and while in college.

Chris Bero is a Huntsville native who graduated from Bob Jones High school in 2012 and from the University of Alabama-Huntsville (UAH) with a bachelor's degree in computer engineering in 2016. He currently works as a government civilian at Army Futures Command. Chris loves seeking out new ways for technology to improve peoples' lives, and developed 3D printed assistive tech that won a cash prize in the 2017 "Hackaday Prize" semifinals. His current projects include volunteering with robotics tournaments and at a local nonprofit observatory.

After the teacher presentations, the teachers voted for the best presentation in each of three grade groups. The following teachers selected by their peers for the best presentations in their grade group will receive a $100 check from HATS STEDTRAIN.

Group 1: Kindergarten through 3rd Grade
Mrs. Shana Smith
Ralph Askins Elementary
Little Tigers STEM Lab

Group 2: 4th through 8th Grade
Ms. Whitney Evans
Madison County Virtual Academy
First LEGO League Challenge Robotics Team

Group 3: 9th through 12th Grade
Ms. Monica Hobson
Limestone County Career Technical Center
Team 34 - Rocket Robotics - Limestone County

We recorded some of the conference presentations. Those presentations are embedded below and are also available on our YouTube channel.

Segment Listing

Thank you to our donors who provide the funding for these Seed Grants. We could not do our job without their support. This year, our cash donors included:

• Space and Missile Defense Working Group of the National Defense Industrial Association (NDIA), Tennessee Valley Chapter
  
  


• H2L Solutions
  
  


• IEEE, Huntsville Section
  
  


• Redstone Federal Credit Union
  
  

Our in-kind sponsors included:

• Hackett Information Systems Engineering
  
  


• Georgia Tech Research Institute, Huntsville Research Center