Assembling a computer’s motherboard is just like skiing, according to computer repairman Kevin Dyson: It’s scary when you try it for the first time as an adult, but as kid, it comes easy.
“When I got into this industry I was deathly afraid of opening up a computer,” Dyson told the Sun, hovering over the wire-infested, disassembled motherboard of a desktop computer. “So I wanted them to be able to open it up and have no fear of what they’re actually using.”
Dyson, who owns Computer Doctor, an Orcutt-based computer repair shop, was just one of nearly 20 industry leaders who presented at Northern Santa Barbara County’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Industry Days from July 24 to 27.
The camp gave children of low-income families a chance to meet local STEM professionals, learn about the vast breadth of STEM-related careers available in the area, and participate in several interactive workshops led by real-world professionals–all free of charge.
In Dyson’s classroom at Tommie Kunst Junior High School on July 25, a small group of incoming seventh and eighth graders helped him piece together the motherboard of a computer.
It was a seemingly intimidating task, but Dyson made light of the situation, and he joked around as Aubrey Miranda, a Fesler Junior High School student, shyly pressed the computer’s processor into place. It’s the engine of the computer, Dyson told his students, and if it overheats, the computer will almost certainly shut down.
So next came the fan, which Dyson said keeps the processor cool and, in turn, keeps the computer running. He handed the fan to Miranda, who slowly lowered it into the computer.
“I feel like I’m going to mess up something,” Miranda said with a giggle, as she nervously screwed the fan down.
“See, that’s the problem,” Dyson said, “because you’re not.”
“Well,” he laughed, “we’ll find out when you turn it on.”
Soon–after a few correctly answered questions and a little more reassurance–the students seemed to shed their reticence, and handled the following installations like old pros.
Getting kids excited about real-world work is what STEM Industry Days are all about, Dyson said, and getting to meet future engineers, technicians, scientists, and chemists is a blessing to industry professionals. Dyson said he only wishes he could have attended a similar event when he was young.
“It took me awhile to get into what I liked because I was intimidated by it and I was confused a little bit,” Dyson said. “So I wanted to show them how simple it is to just get started and how every single one of them can do it.”
Dyson’s students were just a few out of roughly 150 elementary, junior high, and high school students who attended STEM Industry Days in Santa Maria, according to Victoria Conner, initiatives director for Econ Alliance.
Econ Alliance, a nonprofit that advocates for Northern Santa Barbara County’s industries, hosted the event in partnership with various STEM-related companies, the Santa Maria-Bonita School District, and Santa Maria Joint Union High School District. Conner said Econ Alliance footed the bill for the event, which cost between $10,000 and $15,000 to put on, using sponsorships and in-kind donations.
Students, who Conner said were largely from low-income families, attended for free.
“We felt that sometimes the students in those families, they may be first-generation college students, they may not have parents who have navigated the college system, and they may not have parents with professional degrees to introduce them to some of the career opportunities,” Conner told the Sun.
The four-day event, she said, was an opportunity for those students to consider which career and college pathways might work best for them.
It benefits participating companies as well, according to Jenelle Osborne, executive director of Econ Alliance. Companies get to meet local STEM teachers, who really know how to interest and excite kids, and eventually groom interested students for future jobs.
“So this is one more opportunity to share with the public, especially students, about what the local job opportunity is and how you need to engage early and often,” Osborne said.
Staff Writer Kasey Bubnash writes School Scene each week. Information can be sent to the Sun via mail, fax, or email at mail@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Aug 2-9, 2018.