{"id":1852,"date":"2023-06-26T14:51:04","date_gmt":"2023-06-26T18:51:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/science-mathematics-educational-information\/?p=1852"},"modified":"2024-01-30T15:56:51","modified_gmt":"2024-01-30T20:56:51","slug":"microscopes-stem-and-validation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.spcollege.edu\/science-mathematics-educational-information\/microscopes-stem-and-validation\/","title":{"rendered":"Microscopes, STEM and Validation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Hi. I\u2019m Becky. I\u2019m a Laboratory Specialist at St. Petersburg College<\/a>. What does that mean? I prepare the labs for chemistry, biology, and other sciences at both the Seminole<\/a> and STEM Center at Bay Pines<\/a> Campuses. It also means that I have a unique perspective within both the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) and Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Math (STEAM) communities at SPC. I see how things work (or break, in some cases) from both the inside and outside. From my view on the inside, I see how professors envision their students\u2019 learning opportunities through the supplies they request in their labs. Looking in on the research at the STEM Center, the adjustments and repairs I need to make to the equipment they use tell me the students\u2019 stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I never imagined that the validation that I would get from being a Lab Specialist at SPC would come from the outside. Let me sum up. A professor asked me if I wanted to take over the microplastics demonstration in conjunction with Keep Pinellas Beautiful<\/a>. I was shocked, flattered, and quite honestly, a little scared. It had been an exceptionally long time since I had spoken in public, but I soldiered on. The first talk was not a disaster. The second was much improved. I continued to do more research and ask more questions. More SPC employees reached out to give me information or ask me to bring my talk to their class or event. After about a year of honing my presentation, I felt comfortable enough to take my talk outside SPC\u2019s walls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"a<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I began to participate in community outreach events like Science Fest<\/a> at USF and Law Day<\/a> at Pinellas Park High School to see how the STEM programs<\/a> offered at SPC interact with the real world. More importantly, I got to see how the world interacts with STEAM. It was so much fun to see people\u2019s reactions to microscopes. Some were cautious, some excited. Ultimately, my validation comes every time the light turns on in a young student\u2019s eyes as they look through a microscope at flowers picked right outside their classroom. Or when I see the recognition, and maybe a little horror, in an adult\u2019s face when they focus on microplastic that came from my kitchen sink. That is what motivates me to pack up my microscopes again and again, schlepping them from place to place, chasing that EUREKA moment that fills me with so much joy.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I never imagined that the validation that I would get from being a Lab Specialist at SPC would come from the outside. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2030,"featured_media":1857,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"coauthors":[111],"class_list":["post-1852","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-science"],"yoast_head":"\r\nMicroscopes, STEM and Validation - Science and Mathematics<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"How a microplastics presentation taught me the value of my job at St Petersburg College and showed me my place in STEM.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" 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