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Falconer Grad Helps Support Summer Program

Kathryn Jaroszynski, a 2018 Falconer Central School graduate, is helping provide summer programming to middle school students within the school district. The summer Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Camp began Monday and will conclude Friday. Using scholarship funding, Jaroszynski played a key role in offering the camp to the 18 students this summer. P-J photo by Jordan W. Patterson

FALCONER – Graduating 13 months ago, Kathryn Jaroszynski returned to Falconer Central School with a purpose.

Jaroszynski, the FCS 2018 valedictorian, is using funds from the 2019 Clark Engineering Scholar Program to support a summer Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Camp this week. Jaroszynski’s work is a collaboration among Mary Plumb, a Falconer math teacher, and the district.

“It’s been really great,” Jaroszynski said. “I hope to do it next year.”

The program began on Monday and will conclude today. Students are being provided STEM enrichment lessons for six hours each day. Eighteen students are currently enrolled in the program.

Plumb said without the funding from Jaroszynski’s scholarship, the district would have had to apply for grants elsewhere to support the summer program.

Jaroszynski is currently attending George Washington University. She was named a Clark Scholar during the spring semester. The scholarship allows for study abroad trips and various internships.

Students selected as a Clark Scholar, tailored toward building a pipeline of engineers, receive a scholarship based on need and merit.

“I decided I wanted to do a STEM Camp here,” said Jaroszynski, a biomedical engineering major.

Because the she received the scholarship relatively late, her options were limited in terms of traditional on-the-job internships. But in the end, Jaroszynski was satisfied with the result of the camp.

“I’m really happy with it. It’s great,” she said. “I just wanted to get them involved and kind of share my love of STEM with them.”

Students on Wednesday were using a basic coding program inside the school’s computer lab animating characters.

Prior to that, students began building miniature windmills made of plastic pipes and also constructed bridges out of popsicle sticks and glue to hold the weight of several textbooks.

Plans for the camp began “months ago” with meetings taking place between Jaroszynski and Plumb. Plumb said the school district allowed the tandem to develop and conduct the program as they wished. Both of them praised the trust of the district and the board of education placed in the duo to manage the program.

The scholarship’s funding went to purchase all the supplies for the camp. Additionally, Jaroszynski was tasked with creating the week-long curriculum for the students.

Jaroszynski said she wanted to focus on STEM and science because of her major and her overall view of society.

“We’re always going to need science because that’s going to help us grow as a society,” she said.

She described engineering as a “growing field” and emphasized that STEM education does incorporate more than just science. She praised the trend of local school districts, like that of Falconer, transitioning to a more STEM education based curriculum in lower grade levels.

“Putting STEM together and having it in schools is really helping the kids build a lot of different skills they can use when they get older,” the Falconer graduate said.

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