STARBASE volunteers improve program

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Jose L. Hernandez
  • Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs
MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  For the past few years, there has been a nationwide movement to implement programs designed to enhance early childhood education.

One program at Minot Air Force Base that focuses on enhancing the youth's interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, is the STARBASE program, which is headed into its fourth year of implementation.

An extension of the program is STARBASE 2.0, which is a middle school mentoring program that takes a hands on approach to strengthen students' engagement with the targeted subjects. The concept of mentoring through teamwork is stressed as the students work together to explore, explain, elaborate and evaluate concepts.

In total, the local program consists of two STARBASE staff members, several adult mentors, and more than 30 students from the 6th and 7th grades.

During their after-school sessions, the mentors who are both active-duty military members and teachers, engage in teambuilding activities, career exploration and goal setting exercises, among other activities.

"Adult volunteers are integral to the success of the Department of Defense STARBASE programs," said STARBASE North Dakota director, Lisa Murphy. "Active military members provide real world examples of STEM careers while providing a practical application of the STEM knowledge the students obtain while attending the STARBASE North Dakota Academy."

Master Sgt. Danny Christ, 5th Civil Engineer Squadron first sergeant, is one of the several active-duty volunteers who spend their time helping out as mentors with the program.

"Any amount of time you can spend to help educate and motivate the children in school is time well spent," Christ said. "Tomorrow's youth are important."

Christ explained the STARBASE program is a valuable asset to the students who participate in it because it teaches them the basics in certain aspects of engineering and it allows for interaction and teambuilding with others, through exercises and decision making.

The team mentoring approach involves one adult mentor for every three to four students, and they get together with the students twice a month for tutoring.

"Mentors assist the STARBASE teachers by guiding the students and helping them complete their task or give them advice when they get stuck on a small problem," said Christ. "These students are smart and have access to resources that some people my age never had."

He said at the end of the day it's nice to see what they have learned and how they have put that information to use.

"Any one of these students can be our next automobile or robotics designer or even an architect," Christ said. "It is rewarding and an honor to be able to be a part of the program."

Murphy explained The STARBASE North Dakota program would not be as successful, or even possible, without the support of Minot AFB and the contributions of the fantastic men and women in uniform.

"The adult mentors act as their guide through this process as they encourage those positive attributes in each student to make a stronger team," said Murphy. "When students feel confident and experience success, they are motivated to learn more and further explore science, technology, engineering and mathematics."

For those interested in finding out how they can get involved with the program or for more information contact Lisa Murphy at 727-3335 or lisa.murphy@minot.k12.nd.us.