Rick Gould - From Artist to STEM Programmer

My name is Rick Gould and I'm serving at The ROCK Center for Youth Development. My service site is in Midland, Michigan and this has been a unique opportunity to learn about the community. Though I was familiar with Midland through several life-long friends, I had never set foot in the city. The only thing I knew about Midland was that Dow Chemical is located there.

The ROCK is an organization that seeks to positively impact teens to succeed and thrive. They provide a variety of character-building and life skills programs for middle and high school students. I serve with the ROCK’s after school program, Grounded, held at three different sites. The ROCK is in their 17th year and the programs that they offer and number of students served have grown impressively during this time.

The primary Grounded program I have been responsible for is ROCKit, our after school STEM program. It was started by last year’s VISTA, and a big undertaking. One of my main responsibilities as this year’s VISTA is to help sustain and grow the program. This has two components. First, I promote the STEM program to kids, families, and the community. Second, and just as importantly, I find STEM professionals and volunteers who will come to our three sites to lead and assist in STEM demonstrations. Without the latter, the former will not grow.

This has all been a learning experience to me. I am not a science or math guy, nor a techie or engineering guy, either. My family certainly had a chuckle when I was hired—“But you’re a writer and artist!” Well, this year I’m a STEM programmer-in-training. For me, to take over the program was initially daunting. Luckily, I had two great volunteers from last year who were most helpful. Also, my site supervisor has been supportive and practical in how and when to get things going.

Luckily, a few STEM guests from last year made return visits. Dow Ambassadors were a great addition to the program. But, I had to improvise and come up with a few of my own STEM experiments. I kept mine simple because the key was to keep middle school age students engaged. This learning curve was a great way to get to know the ROCK kids, too.

While beating the bushes for volunteers and future STEM guests, I started establishing strong connections with volunteer organizations, schools, and STEM demo volunteers. Compared to the huge time commitment I poured into my search, the results felt like I was panning for gold.

But I learned a few important things along the way. There is a huge need for volunteerism. Given the current administration’s call for cutbacks, there will probably be an even greater need. Specifically, there is a huge demand for STEM volunteers and STEM experts for schools. This mirrors the need in STEM industries, where the demand far exceeds the supply. That’s another reason The ROCK wants to grow the STEM program. This is where many of the best jobs are—and will stay. Midland opened their first STEM elementary school this fall and funding has been approved to implement more STEM curriculum in Midland schools. Robotics teams are huge in the community. But there’s still that gap, where we at the ROCK see kids who say, “What’s STEM?” or “That’s just math and science, it’s boring!” At the ROCK, we want kids to know that STEM is already a part of their lives. We want students to be curious about STEM, not intimidated. The more kids learn about STEM, the more opportunities they will have in their education and careers.
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The relationships I’ve made have allowed me to fill up this winter's STEM schedule with ease. And now I am working on summer programs, getting positive responses from the STEM community.

My goal this spring is to strengthen these STEM professional relationships and encourage them to think long-term. On the one hand, Midland is so lucky to have Dow Chemical, which has provided so many STEM volunteers and outreach organizations. On the other hand, Dow’s sleeve gets tugged at by many people, so the most proactive thing is to create an ongoing bond in the Midland community.