Classnotes Podcast (October 28, 2024). Several of the IDRA STEM Equity Ambassadors want to give back to their hometown of San Antonio. The STEM Equity Ambassadors program hosted by IDRA gave educators the opportunity to use interactive and experiential teaching methods and showcase their ideas in equity plans to combat inequities in their respective fields.

In this episode, Anavi Prakash talks to two STEM Equity Ambassadors about what it means to be educators and fight for equity in the city where they were once students. Their answers reflect a desire to make education better for the next generation of students by giving them the support they need to thrive and pave their own paths.

James Hernández, Ph.D., is a technology teacher at Harlandale ISD. He is also a member of the Edgewood ISD school board, the district where he went to high school. Dr. Hernández believes a quality education is the key to empowering communities to be content, politically engaged and earn higher paying jobs. Dr. Hernández earned his doctorate. in interdisciplinary learning and teaching from the University of Texas at San Antonio.

Amanda Roberts, Ph.D., is the math academic program director at St. Philip’s College Southwest Campus. She also has experience as a U.S. Air Force research scientist, assistant professor of chemistry, and middle school science teacher. She aims to mentor and inspire students at all levels, from kindergarten to graduate school. Dr. Roberts earned her doctorate in biomedical sciences from the University of North Texas Health Science Center.

Dr. Hernández and Dr. Roberts are among the eight teachers in San Antonio IDRA named as STEM Equity Ambassadors for the 2023-24 school year. The Alamo STEM Ecosystem, co-led by IDRA, partnered with the other three Defense STEM Education Consortium (DSEC) partners across the country to support over 30 STEM Equity Ambassadors using interactive and experiential teaching methods as they developed robust STEM action plans for their own school and school district.

Anavi Prakash is a student at Northwestern University who served as an IDRA communications intern in the summer of 2024.

Show length: 17:21 min.

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Resources

STEM Equity Ambassadors at IDRA

STEM Equity Ambassadors eBook – Cultivating STEM Equity Ambassadors to Address the Barriers to Equity in STEM Education

STEM Equity – Online Technical Assistance Package

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