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Junior Achievement Teams up with Spectrum Health to Inspire Middle School Girls to Consider STEM Careers

February 12, 2019

Grand Rapids, MI, February 12, 2019 – There is a desperate need for STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) workers in Michigan and more specifically, for women in STEM. Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes (JAMGL) is addressing this issue head on by exposing nearly 300 middle school girls to STEM careers in an all-day event called the “Junior Achievement Girls’ Dream Fair: A STEM Experience”.  This event was hosted in partnership with Spectrum Health and provided students with keynote speakers from women in STEM fields, as well as a vendor fair with local STEM employers, and an opportunity to explore their own STEM strengths in a classroom setting mentored by women in STEM fields. Many of the volunteer mentors are Spectrum Health employees.

“At Spectrum Health, we are pleased to support Junior Achievement in its pursuit of broadening STEM opportunities for students with a special emphasis on generating interest in STEM careers among girls in their middle school years,” said Gwen Sandefur, President, Spectrum Health Hospital Group. “We have hosted this high energy event in the past because it’s so inspiring to see the students engaged and excited about their future. We are pleased to have the opportunity to help them build upon their future potential.”

Research suggests that the key to getting girls interested in STEM careers is exposing them to opportunities within the field at an early age. During this event, utilizing the ‘JA It’s my Future’ curriculum, girls learned about a wide array of possible STEM career paths, as well as being encouraged to investigate, ask questions and be inspired to consider STEM for their future.

“This particular Junior Achievement program/event helps develop the talent pipeline for future STEM workers in the west Michigan community. JA Alumni study reinforces this program because statistics indicates that 20% of all JA Alumni are in the same career as their JA Volunteer Mentor. We are grateful to Spectrum Health for hosting,” said William C Coderre, III, CFRE, President JAMGL.

Junior Achievement districts in Lansing, Battle Creek/Kalamazoo and the Lakeshore will also be hosting local Girls’ Dream Fair events, encouraging a total of over 1,000 girls to consider their futures.

About Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes, Inc.

Junior Achievement of the Michigan Great Lakes is the nation’s 23rd largest JA chapter and an area office of JA USA, the world’s largest organization dedicated to educating students about workforce readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy through experiential, hands-on programs. The organization offers programs to help prepare young people in Mid, West, and North Michigan for the real world by showing them how to generate wealth and effectively manage it, how to create jobs which make their communities more robust, and how to apply entrepreneurial thinking to the workplace. Students put these lessons into action and are empowered to own their economic success. Visit www.westmichigan.ja.org for more information.

People are at the heart of everything we do, and the inspiration for our legacy of outstanding outcomes, innovation, strong community partnerships, philanthropy and transparency. Corewell Health is a not-for-profit health system that provides health care and coverage with an exceptional team of 60,000+ dedicated people—including more than 11,500 physicians and advanced practice providers and more than 15,000 nurses providing care and services in 21 hospitals, 300+ outpatient locations and several post-acute facilities—and Priority Health, a provider-sponsored health plan serving more than 1.3 million members. Through experience and collaboration, we are reimagining a better, more equitable model of health and wellness. For more information, visit corewellhealth.org.

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