STEM event shows Glen Ellyn students 'anything's possible'

So you flunked a math test.

Or you just don't see yourself as a "numbers person."

That's no reason to close the door on a career in STEM, engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs told Hadley Junior High School students.

"No matter where you're at on your journey, it can be done," Kevin Butler recently told eighth-graders at the Glen Ellyn school. "If you kinda like the idea of being an engineer or you kinda like mathematics, but you're afraid you're horrible at it, I was horrible at it. Anything's possible."

Butler's past backs him up. He works for Steelcase, a manufacturer of office furniture, holds two engineering degrees and earned a near-perfect math score on the SAT.

But here was his mic-drop moment:

"I bombed math in seventh grade," Butler said.

Butler was the keynote speaker of Project Innovation, an event designed by two Hadley alums to open young - even hesitant - minds to careers in science, technology, engineering and math.

"Project I is a day meant to expand upon that excitement for your future and open up a category of possibilities that you may not be considering," co-founder Claire Wild told students. "You have interests inside of you that are just waiting to be discovered, and today there are 17 companies that are just as excited as we are to show what they do as members of STEM fields."

Wild and Shay Kiker, now Glenbard West High School students, started Project I three years ago, aiming to shed some stereotypes that may be turning off students to pursuing STEM jobs.

"You see what a fireman does or what a teacher does. You can kind of picture what a businessman might do," said Shay, a senior headed to Vanderbilt University.

"And I think a lot of the math and science careers kind of get grouped under this umbrella of, 'Oh yeah, they wear a lab coat, and they work all day long either crunching numbers or working on formulas.'"

So they set out to bring big names in the STEM fields face-to-face with students. Yes, some wear lab coats, but they're also funny, artistic, creative and people-friendly.

"Part of the effectiveness that we think comes from the event is the fact that the kids are in small classroom sizes and are able to have very intimate settings with the presenters," said Claire, a Glenbard West junior.

It's not your typical career fair. Educators give free rein of the event to Wild, Kiker and their classmates in the STEM club at Glenbard West (the duo are co-presidents). They've managed to recruit speakers from the University of Chicago, the food supplier for McDonald's and Edward Hospital.

"They created something very different, and it's different because its student-led," said Glen Ellyn Elementary District 41 Superintendent Paul Gordon.

Presenters are expected to show - not tell - their love of math and science with interactive activities for students. And they trace their career paths all the way back to when they were students. Butler says he stayed the course as a seventh-grader by taking a less advanced math class that gave him confidence.

"You guys can do anything," he said. "Absolutely anything. I know it. I've lived it."

Before the event, students fill out a survey picking the top companies that pique their interest. Then students attend four sessions based on their choices.

Arfa Hassan wanted to hear from Jodi Norgaard, who overcame some obstacles of her own to start a line of dolls that represent girls who play sports.

"She just started out as a mom who wanted to do something for her child, and now she's going on TV shows and doing all these interesting things, and she's so big now," the Hadley student said.

Norgaard, mom to a 9-year-old-daughter at the time, aimed to design dolls that didn't pigeonhole girls into thinking they have to be "princesses" or wear short skirts and high heels.

But the economy was tanking, and buyers didn't want to have anything to do with a new product. "They wanted to stick with what worked," she said.

Still, Norgaard persevered. And about four years later, she got five minutes to pitch the Go! Go! Sports Girls to Wal-Mart. The dolls - some named after family and friends - are now in 160 of the chain's stores across the country, among other major retailers.

"Any kid can be whatever they want. As you're growing up, remember that. There are going to be a lot of doors (that) close, but there are going to be a lot of doors that open for you," Norgaard told students. "Always open that door. It's your job to open that next door."