STEM Southwest Podcast

This special episode of STEM Southwest is hosted by Shelly along with daughters Makenzie and Bethany.  Today we celebrate the power of STEM Moms!

Show Notes

Ulrika Peroni, Professional Water Skier and mom coach of ‘Da Swedish Fish,' a team that competes in VEX robotics VRC competition.  Da Swedish Fish took robotics on the road that has led to an adventure across the country participating in robotics while traveling in a motorhome.  They turned to the robotics community for help when she had an accident while traveling that has become a real blessing to their family.  Ulrika shares how their journey has helped them to form new friendships, deepen sibling ties, and make a difference in the lives of kids she knows that were challenged.

Gwen Valentino, Massage Therapist and mom coach of the First Lego League H.O.T. Squad.   They will also participate this summer in the Apollo Competition.  “Forced” by her daughter to start a team over a trophy, this mom’s story is inspiring. Learning that competition is both offensive and defensive and has helped to grow their character and strengthen their resolve.  She shares her belief that robotics competitions are reflective of the real world and opportunities to seek out powerful mentor relationships.  Gwen’s favorite outcome of competitive robotics is how her child has come out of her shell and is no longer afraid to communicate with others and mentor other teams.

Kim Edgar is a Molecular Biologist and owner of Science From the Very Beginning.  This STEM Mom who confesses about being “spatially challenged” helped to start a BEST Robotics team, R4Robotics, in hopes that it would capture her son’s interest in building.  In the end. Dustin found a different kind of passion through his involvement, and his sister, Abbey, would eventually pursue a career as a technical writer for Raytheon.  Kim shares their story and how BEST robotics was a vehicle to launch her kids into their life careers and impact their professional lives.

Russ Fisher-Ives This interview is certainly one of our favorites as we talk all things STEM in the Southwest and how the Southwest has influenced many countries beyond our borders including China, Japan, Estonia, Canada, Mexico and so many more! Russ Fisher-Ives is a science teacher turned robotics rock star. Years ago he teamed up with Intel and put his philosophy of Inquiry-based learning to work for students through his business, Inquiry Facilitators. His dynamic personality teams up with the heart of an educator to inspire students across the world as he challenges them to think big through the robotics competition he founded, RoboRAVE. Now an international program, Russ travels the globe inspiring both young and old with his dynamic energy and ability to get the world to communicate in one unified language…. Robots!

Show Notes:

RoboRAVE International

RRPS Student Research Expo

Inquiry Facilitators

STEM Hero and Rockstar

George Gorospe

Benjamin Franklin

Contact Information:

[email protected]

Whatsapp (505-385-7109)

Russ also has several TED talks and speeches our listeners might enjoy:

Native Voices through Technology

Beyond Testing

Today's guest is an executive leader with 25 years of experience as an engineer and innovator who shifted from solving complex robotics programs at FANUC America to encouraging young people to solve complex robotics programs at the Robotics Education & Competition (REC) Foundation. The students compete in VEX robotics competitions across the globe, and Dan's leadership has promoted growth and development of a program that is making robotics education attainable and affordable for students worldwide.

We met Dan at the Google Girl Powered event where, during his keynote address, he encouraged girls to take action and get involved in making a difference in the world during his keynote address. In today's episode, Dan shares some amazing things including how he worked with the Girls Scouts to establish an affordable, easy to implement badge curriculum on robotics engineering. We are in agreement with Dan that our communities, and especially the many organizations that support competitive robotics (FIRST, BEST, RoboRave, and Botball to name a few), need to collaborate to create a strong STEM Ecosystem for our students that will positively impact the STEM Workforce Pipeline.

Show Notes

Dan Mantz is Chief Executive Office and Chairman of the Board for the REC Foundation. Dan is responsible for the long-term strategy, structure, and fiscal health of the organization. He acts as a direct liaison between the REC Foundation and the Board. Prior to joining the REC Foundation, Dan was President of RackSolutions for four years and spent 19 year in the industrial robotics industry at FANUC Robotics.

REC Foundation

Girl Powered

VEX Robotics

VEX Worlds

Contact:

[email protected]

Linkedin

Twitter

Understanding our bodies and caring for them is critical to a long and happy STEM life. Often, when people are striving to be their very best as STEM professionals, they are faced with the importance of self-care. On this episode, our hosts speak with nutritionist, Shelley Rael, about the different self-care strategies that are critical for a healthy and wealthy life.

Show Notes

Contrary to her title, Shelley Rael, MS RDN doesn't believe in diets. A registered dietitian nutritionist since 1999, she helps people change their mindset about food, eliminating rules and judgment while supporting a lifestyle that gives you sustainable energy. Rather than gimmicks, supplements, or fad diets, Shelley works with individuals to create Customized Nutrition Blueprints, or action plans, for sustainable all-day physical and mental energy. Having worked in wellness, health promotion and disease prevention/risk reduction her entire career, she knows there is no one diet that works for everyone and helps people choose a way of eating that works for them year-round, not just before a big event, vacation, season or change of the calendar. Fads, trends, and quick fixes will come and go, but eating will always be necessary.

Shelley Rael

Quest for Energy (webinar)

Eating is not Cheating (webinar)

Six Tips Ebook

Blog

Real World Nutrition (Facebook)

Book Recommendation:

Scarcity: The New Science of Having Less and How It Defines Our Lives, by Sendhil Mullainathan and Eldar Shafir

Snake Oil Science: The Truth about Complementary and Alternative Medicine, by R. Bauker Bausell, PhD

Contact:

[email protected]

(505) 373-0407

Facebook

Linkedin

Twitter

Pinterest

Future space tourists will have today's guest, Chief Pilot David Mackay of Virgin Galactic, to thank for their adventures into the cosmos. This fit family man is working with entrepreneurial king, Sir Richard Branson, to make travel into space accessible to all. David recently completed a successful Virgin Galactic test flight where he traveled approximately 55 miles above the Earth's surface and had with him the company's first test passenger. In this episode, David shares the pain of a sobering tragedy that killed Pilot Michael Alsbury as Virgin Galactic prepared to launch its space program. David also gives listeners a vivid description of what Earth looks like from the vantage point of a pilot's seat, and shares his thoughts on the upcoming transition of Virgin Galactic's commercial space program from Mojave, California to Truth or Consequences, the location of Spaceport America.

Show Notes

David Mackay was born in Scotland and studied Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Glasgow. He joined the Royal Air Force in 1979 during which time he became a test pilot. After retiring from the Royal Air Force in 1995, David became a commercial pilot for Virgin Atlantic. A chance meeting led him to join Virgin Galactic in 1995 for which he has served as its Chief Pilot since 2011. On February 22, 2019, David piloted the SpaceShipTwo VSS Unity into space with a test passenger whose purpose was to evaluate the customer experience and cabin.

Virgin Galactic

David Mackay (pilot)

Virgin Galactic Space Flight on February 22, 2019

Spaceport America

STEM Rockstar:

Beth Moses

Contact information:

LinkedIn

Dr. Shelly Gruenig is typically the one on the show asking questions, but today we put her in the hot seat. She recently won the Coach/Advisor of the Year at the annual STEMYs Excellence in STEM event hosted by the Air Force Research Lab (AFRL) in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a robotics coach since 2005, her teams have amassed a lot of wins. What drives her most in continuing to coach are the victories that her students have achieved in preparing for their future and launching their lives through the opportunities provided as part of the robotics team. Shelly has a strong desire to help others plan and launch their lives in a way that will bring them satisfaction and joy for years to come. She is an expert in Workforce Development and has worked with companies such as Levi Strauss, American National Bank, University of California, and the Brunswick Corporation. Shelly is on a mission to help others identify the steps that they need to take to ensure their best life launch!

Joining us today is guest co-host, Makenzie Gruenig

Show Notes

Life Launch Academy

Home Learning Life Launch Academy (Facebook)

R4 Creating

Contact information:

[email protected]

From construction to entrepreneur, today's guest has always incorporated cutting edge technology in order to innovate and challenge the status quo. John Mierzwa is doing that in many places throughout the Duke City and the entire region. His strong connections have helped him to broker important deals that are impacting the way the rest of the world sees the Computer Science Workforce of the Southwest!

Show Notes

John Mierzwa is CEO & Co-Founder of Ingenuity Software Labs. He is the Founder of Deep Dive Coding Bootcamps, a software development bootcamp in Albuquerque, later acquired by Central New Mexico Community College. John is also leading the DARTInitiative effort to create local software jobs and reverse brain drain by promoting New Mexico as the best value in the U.S. for software development.

Deep Dive Coding

Ingenuity Software Labs

CNM: Central New Mexico Community College

DART Initiative

Future Focused Education

TechHire New Mexico

New Mexico Technology Council

Website recommendations:

TechCrunch

InfoWorld

STEM Rockstar:

Lisa Adkins

Favorite quote:

"A true leader is not the one with the most followers, but one who creates the most leaders." - by Neal Donald Walsch

"In science, 'fact' can only mean 'confirmed to such a degree that it would be perverse to withhold provisional assent.' I suppose that apples might start to rise tomorrow, but the possibility does not merit equal time in physics classrooms." - by Stephen Jay Gould

Contact information:

[email protected]

Peter Balyta, PhD will most certainly leave a STEM legacy to his own children and to millions of kids all over the world through his work as President of Educational Technology at Texas Instruments.

This episode is full of so much information, listeners will want to grab pen and paper to take notes as Peter shares important STEM resources. What started with a kick in the head, this sports enthusiast details how he was shocked into the pursuit of knowledge during his high school years. We are amazed at how often you can find this once math and science teacher out in the community encouraging students at robotics competitions and STEM events. Balyta is certainly a STEM Rockstar who is Inspiring Generation STEM!

Show Notes

Peter Balyta, Ph.D., is vice president of academic engagement and corporate citizenship for Texas Instruments, and president of its Education Technology business. He is responsible for leading teams that focus on the mission of teaching, learning and being inspired by STEM subjects and the impact Texas Instruments makes in the communities in which it operates. This includes several groups and programs that span Texas Instruments, all of which aim to help students develop a strong educational foundation, setting them up for future success in a workforce that increasingly demands STEM skills.

Girl-Powered

STEM Behind Cool Careers

TI Robotics System Learning Kit

TI-Innovator™ Rover

Python

Book recommendation:

Path to the Stars: My Journey from Girl Scout to Rocket Scientist , by Sylvia Acevedo

Favorite quotes:

"The role of the teacher is to create the conditions for invention rather than provide ready-made knowledge," by Seymour Papert

"If you only do what you can do, you will never be more than you are now," by Master Shifu

Contact information:

Twitter

Instagram

Linkedin

Facebook

Have you ever wondered what it is like to be a part of a robotics team? Our guests this week have been competing for years, and are going to share their experiences and knowledge with you! Not only do they have great character, these four Presidents of R4Robotics led their team to the top BEST Award at the 2018 TX BEST Robotics competition that was held in December 2018! Of course, you may realize that this is the team that we coach, and you even get to hear from our youngest daughter, Bethany, in this episode!

On the night before our competition, we asked the entire team to raise their hand if they had learned anything during the robotics season. We further asked them to raise their hand if they had fun or made a new friend. Then, we asked them to look around at the raised hands at which time they realized that They Had Already Won! That, in fact, it didn't really matter what happened on the gamefield so as long as they did their very best. Today's guests took that message to heart and gave it their all up until the last minute…and all of us were surprised when the team name was called for the top award. Join in the laughter and the wisdom from four of our youngest STEM Rockstars on today's episode!

Show Notes:

Statement from students' parents

Jared

The most powerful lesson Jared has learned by being part of R4Robotics is that all of his various interests and talents have, and that they lead to real-life success.

Reva

This morning, a friend said that he watched KRQE in the Morning last Friday, when Reva was being interviewed. He was quite impressed that she was able to hold her own during the interview, and was able to answer direct questions with complete and thoughtful answers. I responded that it has come from years of practice and training through the dedicated efforts of being a part of the robotics team. Reva is committed to doing a very good job, no matter what the task is.

Bethany

Bethany was born into robotics. Through the team experience, she has had to learn to stand in the shadow of her siblings and make her own way. It has helped her grow into a mature young woman whose leadership skills far surpass many of her peers. We couldn't be prouder of the young woman she has become through the experience.

Ryan

I think the most powerful experience for Ryan is the growth in confidence he has gained for being able to lead a team. The skills he has been taught, and has learned from actually leading meetings and build sessions, not only gave him confidence in his own abilities and ideas, but will serve him well in all of his future activities.

Contact information for R4Robotics,

Be Greater Than Average, and R4Creating

R4Robotics (Robotics Team)

Rio Rancho Robo Runners

Facebook

Twitter

Be Greater Than Average (Robotics Camps)

Be Greater Than Average

Facebook

R4Creating (Not-for-Profit)

R4Creating

Facebook

Phylecia Jones is affectionately known as the Budgetologist. As a motivational speaker and podcaster, she has been getting people to clean up their financial act and find ways to "feed their budget." Her recent Ted Talk has brought her back into the STEM community, something she thought was part of her past after retiring five years ago. Her message is powerful and clear, i.e., we need to create new stereotypes to make the world a better place. Please join us as we delve into her background in STEM, baton twirling, and her passion for photography and travel. Our biggest salute to this veteran who is making a difference in the world!

Show Notes

With a Bachelor's in Computer Science and a Master's in Systems Engineering, Phylecia Jones proudly served 13 years as a civilian Computer Scientist for the U.S. Navy and Department of Defense, supporting sailors and soldiers across the world, but realized that it was not enough. At the age of 36 years old, she took an early retirement and started a journey that would forever change her life… entrepreneurship. As the CEO of Keep up with Mrs. Jones LLC, Creator of Budget School, a premier business financial education platform, and Host of the Budget School Podcast, Phylecia is the savvy go-to budgeting nerd, speaker, and trainer.

Women of Denver

"All Girls are Great at Math" by Phylecia Jones at TEDxCherryCreekWomen2018

Ask the Budgetologist

American Society for Engineering Education

STEM Rockstar:

Katherine Johnson

Patricia Bath

Josephine Cochrane

Book recommendations:

Becoming by Michelle Obama

The 5 Second Rule: Transform your Life, Work, and Confidence with Everyday Courage, by Mel Robbins

You Are a Badass®: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life, by Jen Sincero

The Twilight Saga White Collection, by Stephenie Meyer

Favorite quote:

"Being a great scientist is not knowing all of the answers, but knowing how to find the answers."

Contact information:

Keep Up with Mrs. Jones