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KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WVLT) – High school students in East Tennessee got a chance to experience science first-hand on Saturday.
The library at the University of Tennessee inspired them with Big Orange Stem Saturday (BOSS).
“Our theme this year is ‘the future is now’ and so we have everything from our futuristic artificial intelligence to nursing the latest trends,” Thura Mack, the assistant dean of the library, said.
BOSS is a yearly tradition for the University of Tennessee. College students in different programs speak with the high schoolers and help them find a passion for the sciences.
“I think when people are able to see something, it’s easier for them to picture where they want to or where they can be because some people may not see it. They think ‘Oh, maybe I can’t go to college’ or ‘Maybe I can’t do this’, but once you see it, you know you’re able to build that passion and that fire and say ‘They’re doing it, I could do it too’,” UT senior Ayrika Anderson said.
Anderson said she used to come to these STEM events back when she was in high school, and she is glad to help the next generation of scientists.
This is many high schoolers’ first STEM event, while others have been going to these for years. Those students said what they learn is inspirational.
“A lot of what we could do and what we could go into and stuff like that,” Kin Savage said. “It can also show us that these people came from the same background as us. The speaker that we had earlier came from a very similar background as us and he still made it through college and got to where he was. It’s a big inspiration.”
Event organizers said this was a chance to help the next generation figure out what they want after graduation.
“They take away a core skill set that they can apply immediately and continue to utilize in their classrooms, continue to utilize as they graduate from high school and make that decision,” Mack said.
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