Sussex County STEM Alliance – Building Sustainable Pathways & Inclusivity in STEM throughout Sussex County, Delaware

Building Sustainable Pathways & Inclusivity in STEM throughout Sussex County, Delaware

Our nation continues to face resource shortages in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers which threatens America’s growth and competitiveness.

We're a nonprofit organization committed to positioning Sussex County, Delaware among the national leaders in STEM advocacy and awareness.

Our STEM Initiative & Mission

A Letter from our Founder

Our nation continues to face resource shortages in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers which threatens America’s growth and competitiveness.

There are two contributing factors to this issue: 1) Skills Gap: US Census shows 9.3 million unemployed, but 4.7 million STEM jobs unfilled, and 2) reduction in STEM pipeline: Today, only 15% of undergraduates are STEM majors, not enough to meet our nation’s demand.

Delaware is no different and has been working diligently to address this problem with multiple programs to stimulate interest in STEM education and careers for all Delawareans. Most of these programs are based upstate and although open to Sussex County, the travel distance, as well as inconsistent communications of STEM-related events to Sussex county participants make it difficult for those residing and working here to participate.

There exists no formal dissemination of STEM related information from K-12 – higher education – STEM- related industry in Sussex County. Many schools, parents and students are not aware of STEM-related fields of study available to students in Sussex County higher education institutions. Furthermore, many students enrolled in Sussex county institutions of higher education institutions are not aware of the many STEM-related career opportunities available to them in this county.

Forging a new path forward

As a result of these challenges, I am creating an alliance of all STEM Stakeholders including educators, consumers (industry, government, organizations, etc.), legislators, and families in Sussex County to focus on our region’s specific needs in addressing the gap and pipeline issues. This alliance will create, foster, support and promote programs that:

assist in the development or adoption of stronger and more standardized STEM curricula
increase student awareness of, interest in and pursuit of STEM education/careers
encourage curricular alignment among educational organizations
develop awareness of opportunities available to highly qualified STEM educators to attract them to Sussex County
graduate high performing students with expertise
create strong pathways to the STEM-related workforce in fulfillment of the employment needs in Sussex County.

I hope that you will help support these initiatives by joining Sussex County STEM Alliance so that we can help position Sussex County, Delaware be among the national leaders in STEM advocacy and awareness.

Michael J. Maksymow, Jr., MBA, CHCIO, FCHIME, FHIMSS

Founder of Sussex County STEM Alliance

Our Programs

Get Involved with our programs & Community Outreach

Sussex County K-5 STEM Fair

The Sussex County STEM Alliance in collaboration with the Lewes Public Library and through the generous support of the Carl M. Freeman Foundation FACES Grant is hosting the first annual K-5 Sussex County STEM Fair on November 5, 2022. The STEM fair will be open to all children in grades K-5 attending a public, private, home, and alternative schools in Sussex County Delaware. Students can enter projects to compete as individuals or groups within various STEM categories. The fair is designed to encourage students to experience hands-on STEM learning in a fun way while developing their critical thinking and scientific process skills. Projects will be judged by local STEM professionals. All students will be recognized for their efforts, and exceptional entries will be awarded exciting prizes.

Virtual STEM Socials

Our Virtual STEM Socials are part of our community outreach initiatives aimed at connecting stakeholders throughout Sussex County, Delaware around engaging topics of STEM inclusivity that spark meaningful conversations between parents, community leaders, government, educators, and students.

Engineering Your Tomorrow

This event, sponsored by DuPont, Girls, Inc and the Girls Scouts, has been going on in New Castle for 29 years. The Delaware Foundation for Science and Math Education, Mountaire Farms, Delaware Technical and Community College along with the Sussex County STEM Alliance helped to bring the first EYT event to Sussex County in April 2019.

The event is for girls in grades 6th-8th and their parents. When the girls arrive, they are split into 8 groups. Each group is paired with a guide who is usually in a STEM career/ industry. The girls participate in hands-on engineering and science activities throughout the day. The parents attend a panel discussion with some of Delaware’s top engineers and STEM-related career people. Discussions are held on the importance of supporting their girls’ interests toward STEM and how to select the correct coursework.