“STEM can be fun”: AC ² students showcase the importance of STEM education to the younger generation

SUNY New Paltz’s AMP & CSTEP Community (AC²) Program supports emerging leaders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, and their annual Days of Service offer them opportunities to mold even younger students into potential STEM scholars. 

Each year, AC ² students in partnership with the New Paltz Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP) take part in youth mentoring activities where children from New York State-based schools come by for a day to learn about all studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics can offer them. In April, students from the Early Learning Center in Poughkeepsie, New York and Flushing International High School in Queens, New York were able to soak in the joys of STEM education. 

“It’s important for children from a young age to know that STEM can be fun,” said Darniel Codrington ’27 (Computer Science), who was among the AC ² community members guiding Early Learning Center students through engaging science experiments. 

Junior Ambar Pierret ’25 (Biology) also hosted some demonstrations of science experiments, which allowed her to serve as a role model for the younger students. 

“There aren’t a lot of people who look like us out there in STEM, so opportunities like this show the youth what they are capable of,” she said.  

The high school students, meanwhile, took a special tour of campus, with the AC ² students and staff showing the teenagers around the School of Science & Engineering’s state-of-the-art facilities, as well as the Sojourner Truth Library.  

“Some of the students here might be considering coming to New Paltz themselves, so I wanted to guide them through the many resources available here for them to pursue their dreams,” said Giani Arias ’24 (Computer Engineering). 

The visit from Flushing International High School had special meaning for the AC ² community, as it was coordinated with the help of alumna and school assistant principal Rosmery Milczewski ’08 (Secondary Education: Mathematics), who was herself a student supported by AC ².  

Milczewski makes it a point to have her students visit every year and looks at the experience as an opportunity to show them what AC ² meant to her.  

“Coming back here validates the support and the community that being a part of AC ² provides,” she said. “The relationships you form here stay long past your time at SUNY New Paltz. That is what I want my students to remember should they enroll here.” 

To learn more about the opportunities AC² offers students each year, follow them on Instagram @ampcstepnp.