Tag: STEM

South Carolina Lt. Governor Pamela Evette Announces STEM Funding for the Palmetto Academy for Motor Sports

PALM to receive funding as part of the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) Lt. Governors’ STEM Scholarship Program

CONWAY, SOUTH CAROLINA – South Carolina Lt. Governor Pamela Evette has announced that Palmetto Academy for Motor Sports is an award recipient of the 2025 NLGA Lt. Governors STEM Scholarship Program!  NLGA will award the school $500 as part of a national call for applications for funding STEM programming and curriculum in schools.

“STEM opportunities are essential for students across all ages, disciplines, and career paths,” said Lt. Governor Evette. “South Carolina stands as a national leader in the automotive, manufacturing, and motorsports industries. Through supporting STEM education at PALM, the NLGA funding is advancing the education and development of South Carolina’s future S.C. workforce.”

PALM is a vocational high school dedicated to preparing students for careers in the motorsports industry. The STEM Scholarship will provide funding for microscopes, enabling students to incorporate microscopy into subjects like biology and chemistry, and to enhance their academic experience through a robust, competency-based curriculum.

NLGA opened the application period for the STEM Scholarship Program in January 2025. The application process was competitive, with NLGA receiving more than 125 requests for STEM funding from schools in 32 states and territories. Twelve schools in 12 states and territories were awarded $500 – $1,000 for STEM-related expenses.

“As the seconds-in-command in state and territorial government, lieutenant governors are uniquely poised to lead on STEM education,” said NLGA Executive Director Kellie Rittershausen. “By supporting STEM-related activities in schools across the country, we can encourage a long-term interest and passion in STEM education in America’s youth.”

The Scholarship Program is administered by NLGA, the nonpartisan, nonprofit association for the nation’s seconds-in-command, and sponsored by ACT, the education and career readiness nonprofit.

“ACT is proud to have been the sponsor of the NLGA STEM scholarship program since its inception and to see its growth and impact over the past 4 years,” ACT CEO Janet Godwin said. “STEM education is crucial for our country’s future workforce which will be increasingly reliant on the critical thinking and problem-solving skills it fosters, regardless of a student’s college or career pathway.  ACT is uniquely poised to meet this moment, and working alongside NLGA, we are committed to ensuring that all students leave high school prepared to enter a world of evolving postsecondary and work opportunities, including those for which a high-quality STEM education are essential.”

Public, private, and tribal schools serving pre-K – 12th grade students in the 50 states and five U.S. territories were invited to apply for funding to support STEM-related activities, programming, curriculum, equipment, and other expenses. Funding will be provided to all winning schools in May.

Additional information on the STEM Scholarship Program can be found at https://nlga.us/state-strategies-in-stem/.

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The National Lieutenant Governors Association donates 100 STEM toys to the YMCA of Coastal Carolina

Originally published April 25, 2024 by the YMCA of Coastal Carolina

The YMCA of Coastal Carolina was the proud recipient of the NLGA STEM Service Project donations at the National Lieutenant Governors Association Spring Meeting.  

David Byrd, Chief Executive Officer for the YMCA of Coastal Carolina thanked the NLGA participants and said, “STEM is a big part of our future. Our YMCAs across the United States and particularly here in South Carolina, focus heavily on STEM. I see it everyday with our kids and our families. We are honored today to receive this gift of 100 STEM toys.” 

Sponsored by BMW Manufacturing Co, NLGA Members wrapped and donated 100 STEM-related toys to the YMCA of Coastal Carolina to give to kids in our programs.  As of April 1, 2024, more than 450 youth in six states or territories have STEM opportunity as a direct result of NLGA Members meeting and working together.

“Getting our kids involved and engaged with STEM is so important to developing the workforce of tomorrow” said Lt. Governor Pamela Evette. “We are thankful to BMW for their support and the YMCA of Coastal Carolina for providing hands-on learning experiences throughout the school year and during the summers — allowing parents to get to work and helping our kids to thrive.”

YMCA Afterschool and Summer Camp programs incorporate STEM, literacy, academic support, and physical activity into the daily schedules. Evidence shows that providing out-of-school time (OST) learning directly impacts what is possible to learn inside classrooms — just as what happens in classrooms impacts OST learning.

Hatton Gravely, Chief Development Officer for the YMCA of Coastal Carolina, adds, “Kids learn through play, and these STEM toys will enhance what the kids are learning in school and at the Y in programs. We are so grateful to be selected by the NLGA for this wonderful gift!”

SC lieutenant governor promotes STEM education as key to attracting tech industry

by Michael Owen – originally published by WPDE on September 14, 2023

NORTH MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WPDE) — South Carolina is pushing to be an attractive destination for tech companies, and our state’s Lieutenant Governor said the key is being a national leader in stem education.

Lt. Gov. Pamela Evette visited the Grand Strand today to speak at a tech conference.

She was the host speaker Wednesday at the SC Decoded Conference in North Myrtle Beach.

She said that having these types of jobs and education resources available is crucial to our area if we want the younger generations to stay here.

The Lieutenant Governor also said that while Myrtle Beach has always been routed in hospitality, it’s now expanding into a new industry.

“With DC Blox announcing they’re coming to Myrtle Beach, basically bringing transatlantic fiber in here and being a data center. So, what that’s saying is this is the area you want to be in if you’re going to be in the cyber computer science arena,” said Lt. Gov. Evette.

In order to keep attracting those companies and providing future generations with jobs, Evette said education is the key.

“We have an opportunity. There are great choices in this field, and we as a state, want our kids to stay here. We’re looking out into the future that we are educating our kids for the jobs of the future,” she said.

In 2018, just 43% of all high schools in South Carolina offered computer science courses. Now 93% offer them, which is number two in the country.

She said we need to introduce kids to stem fields at earlier ages.

“It’s never too young. You know I first learned here in Myrtle Beach about STEM and STEAM doing robotics. They start them out very young with Legos getting the dexterity to put things together to create and build and they continue to ramp that up each year,” said Lt. Gov. Evette.

The leader of FIRST Robotics competitions in South Carolina tells me they have kids as young as four years old participating.

“When you go look at kids, they’re using technology. They’re using their iPads. They’re using all these resources and sometimes it’s just to have an environment they can relax in. What we try to do is flip that brain the other way and say how can we actually show the kids how to build that app,” said Chris Cortez, FIRST South Carolina. He added, “They’re using encoding skills that we teach them to build those apps. So they can actually understand at a fundamental level of actually how this comes to be.”

Cortez said FIRST wants to give all kids the opportunity to be introduced to STEM fields and have mentors to be able to help guide them in the industry.

“We also want to empower the students that are in our programs, and future members of our programs to stay in the state of South Carolina. There are great opportunities here and we are going to help build that economic boom of those STEM leaders with our programs,” said Cortez. He went on to add, “When they say there’s great jobs here, we want to be a part of that and say we’re helping build those opportunities for those kids to be successful for those businesses. So those businesses can come here and say ‘You know what there is a great workforce here.’ ”

The Lieutenant Governor agrees that equipping students with the right resources will be crucial to continued expansions into STEM careers for South Carolina. It’s not just kids she wants to be educated either. She also wants to see more veterans use scholarship opportunities to live in South Carolina and enter the STEM field. 

“We know that cyber is the future, technology is the future, and we want to make sure that we equip all South Carolina students with the knowledge that they need for these amazing careers,” said Lt. Gov. Evette.

Many tech companies were on hand for the meet and greet style event with speakers on topics like A.I. and cyber security.

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