Students get taste of technology at
Berkshire STEM Career Fair
By Tony Dobrowolski
tdobrowolski@berkshireeagle.com @tonydobrow on Twitter
POSTED: 11/21/2014 04:12:54 PM EST0 COMMENTS | UPDATED: 5 DAYS AGO
PITTSFIELD >> A group of high school students stood quietly in front of a movie screen
on Friday, watching film of a device known as the "da Vinci" robot remove a tumor from a
kidney.
"I'm sure I've seen surgeries on TV, but not this close," said Pittsfield High School junior
Sheila Atiemo. "It's kind of gross, but it's intriguing at the same time."
Gross, intriguing — and educational.
Atiemo was among 400 students from local colleges and 12 county high schools who
attended Friday's eighth annual Berkshire STEM Career Fair at Berkshire Community
College. STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics.
The representatives of 29 organizations, including businesses, nonprofits, educational
institutions, even municipal entities like the Pittsfield Police Department, spent the
morning demonstrating to the students what careers in STEM subjects might look like.
BCC hosted the fair, "to create some awareness of STEM career opportunities and
educational opportunities (for students) in local areas," said Addie VanDeurzen, BCC's
career and technical education coordinator.
Many demonstrations were intriguing, some even exotic. In addition to the da Vinci robot,
the fair included a demonstration from Mount Everett Regional High School robotic's team,
and a group from McCann Tech's surgical tech program performing an operation on a
plastic dummy.
Pittsfield Police officers demonstrated crime scene techniques and traffic accident
reconstruction, procedures that rely heavily on math and science.
"A lot of high school kids don't understand how many opportunities there are (in the police
department) to use science and math," Police Chief Michael Wynn said. "Crime scene is all
math and science."
With advanced manufacturing making a comeback in the United States, and careers in the
life sciences industry becoming increasingly popular, especially in Massachusetts,
knowledge of STEM-related subjects is becoming more crucial for students looking for
quality employment opportunities in the 21st century economy.
"Manufacturing isn't a dirty word," said Christine Goodall, human resources director for
Bayer Material Science in Sheffield. "It's a great business to be involved in."
Taconic High School seniors Sarah Cicchetti and Sarah Tierney are both interested in
careers in science-related fields. Cichetti plans to major in biochemistry: "What I love about
it is you can do almost anything," she said. Tierney, who also likes art, would like to major in
biology and minor in chemistry
"It gives us an idea about what is around here," Cicchetti said, when asked what they got
from Friday's event.
Pittsfield High School junior Courtney Francoeur is interested in marine biology.
"This gives me more of an idea of the specific job that I want to do," she said.
Bill Knowles, a presenter for Cavallero Plastics of Pittsfield, said providing more
information to students about STEM-related careers helps them understand what they
entail.
Knowles, who is in product development, but calls himself an inventor, showed students
rough sketches that he drew at 2 a.m. — "I woke up with an idea," he said — of a product
designed to assist a camera that Cavallero later manufactured.
"They're really interested," Knowles said of the students. "They didn't know this existed in
Pittsfield.
Contact Tony Dobrowolski at (413) 496-6224.
Jake Christinnat, 16, Benn Webb, Kosta Casivant, Max Lowenstein and Alex Dunn, all 17, work on the Mount Everett
Regional High School robotics team robot at the Berkshire STEM Career Fair on Friday at Berkshire Community College.
(Ben Garver — The Berkshire Eagle)
rkshire Eagle
Professor Tom Tyning speaks about box turtle studies as the keynote speaker at the Berkshire STEM
Career Fair at BCC, Friday Nov. 21, 2014. Ben Garver — The Berkshire Eagle
— The Berkshire Eagle
The Boland Theatre at BCC is packed with attendies at the Berkshire STEM Career Fair, Friday Nov. 21,
2014. Ben Garver — The Berkshire Eagle
See additional gallery images here.
The 8th Annual Berkshire STEM Career Fair at BCC allows Berkshire high school students to interact with
professionals who use math and science. Friday Nov. 21, 2014. Ben Garver — The Berkshire Eagle
‹Photo Gallery | Berkshire STEM Career Fair at BCC