“I like seeing results. I like knowing that what I am doing is going to have some kind of bearing on the world,” Cody Stothers, Vanderbilt Class of 2014, told VUCast as he prepared to graduate. “It’s going from this mundane, high school setting where science is just some text book and some test, into the real world where science is the cutting edge. It’s the future.”
Cody and fellow Vanderbilt student Domonique Bragg went through Aspirnaut™ the summer before they entered Vanderbilt. The spent eight weeks embedded in Vanderbilt research labs working on various projects.
“It takes hard work to achieve, but the achievement is worth it,” Dr. Julie Hudson told VUCast.
Founded in 2006 by Vanderbilt researchers and frequent inventors Drs. Billy and Julie Hudson, the program aims to encourage young people in rural and impoverished parts of the country to pursue careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math).
“My motivation stemmed from an impoverished childhood, dysfunctional family, and lack of preparation in math and science for college studies,” Dr. Billy Husdon wrote on their website. “Earning a doctorate in biochemistry enabled me to overcome the barriers of poverty, child abuse, and inadequate public K-12 education. Aspirnaut™ was founded with the help of my wife, sister and brother.”
Currently, the program offers two programs for students, a Summer Research Internship like the one Cody and Domonique participated in and the “beaming” in of hands-on inquiry-based STEM labs weekly into rural elementary and middle school classrooms (lessons are shared via videoconferencing). And it's been extremely successful.
"We have had a total of 69 high school interns, 49 of whom are far enough along to have graduated from high school (no dropouts)," said Dr. Julie Hudson. "Of these 49, 48 have gone on to a subsequent degree program in college--40 in a STEM-related program. What’s especially striking about the data is that nearly half of the 48 have gone to an out-of-state 4-year college or university. This is not typical for the demographic groups represented by these interns."
But, Hudson explained, it isn't just high school students who benefit from Aspirnaut™.
"Additionally, we've had 57 undergraduate interns, all in STEM-related majors. Of the 38 of these interns who have finished college, 25 pursued graduate education, three went directly into the STEM workforce, one is a 6th grade language arts teacher, and the remainder are in transition of applying to graduate education or in a gap year."
Aspirnaut™ is currently seeking sponsors and educational partners. To learn more about Aspirnaut™ click here, and check out the VUCast video below.