K-12 Outreach

A key part of SETWC's mission is to increase students' awareness of and interest in transportation careers. We have a strong focus in K-12 outreach that includes:

Sustained leadership of the West Tennessee STEM Hub, a regional K-12 initiative,
Research that explores best practices that lead to successful outcomes with K-12 students,
Support for regional and national K-12 transportation education initiatives,
Engagement of industry and academic partners in outreach efforts, and
Continued excellence in K-12 outreach program delivery.

Opportunities for involvement include joining our steering committee, participating in SETWC-led outreach efforts, and collaboration on related research initiatives. For more information, or to get involved, contact Stephanie Ivey at stephanie.ivey@memphis.edu.

West Tennessee STEM Hub

The West TN STEM Hub (the Hub) serves as a resource for West Tennessee to increase students’ interest in and preparedness for the STEM workforce. The Hub takes a multi-pronged approach to engaging target audiences through a variety of activities including providing materials for individual exploration, in-classroom and out of classroom learning opportunities, teacher training, and creating conversations between K-12, higher education, and industry around STEM education. Collaborative partnerships between the Hub and STEM community professionals are the cornerstone of this work. The Hub is led by the University of Memphis SETWC in the Herff College of Engineering with partnership from the UofM College of Education and the College of Arts and Sciences.

We are one of 7 Innovation Hubs in Tennessee comprising the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network.

To learn more about the West Tennessee STEM Hub, visit our website.

Download the latest West Tennessee STEM Hub impact statement today!

Graphic of STEM Hub About Us

Spotlight on Best Practices

Girls Experiencing Engineering (GEE)

The GEE program is a summer enrichment experience for elementary, middle and high school girls that provides hands-on project-based learning opportunities and interactions with mentors to showcase science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) career pathways, and to help them build confidence in their ability to pursue careers in these fields. In addition, the program provides participants with understanding of preparation required to enter these fields, communication and soft-skills training and practice, and leadership development experiences. Our program began in 2004 with support from our founding sponsor, the Women's Foundation for a Greater Memphis. For 20 years, we have conducted longitudinal research on program impacts to contribute to broader understanding of factors influencing students' decisions to pursue engineering and other STEM careers. The GEE program was recognized by Insight into Diversity Magaine in 2018 as an Inspiring Program in STEM. Learn more about GEE here!