STARBASE prepares future leaders Published Sept. 21, 2011 By Senior Airman Jesse Lopez Minot Air Force Base Public Affairs MINOT AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. -- The first class under the STARBASE North Dakota program, a premiere Department of Defense education program, graduated Sept. 20 at the North Plains Elementary School here. STARBASE is a DoD sponsored educational program. One of the requirements to participate is to be located on a military installation. The curriculum of the DoD STARBASE Program is designed for fifth-grade students and is based on national standards. STARBASE is sponsored by the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense providing students with 20-25 hours of stimulating experiences with bases of all services across the nation to explore careers and make connections with the real world. "The STARBASE program allows elementary students to participate in challenging hands-on and minds-on activities introduced in a world leading curriculum in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics," said Matt Balas, Minot Air Force Base school liaison officer. "Raising the interest and improving the knowledge and skills of at-risk youth in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, will provide for a highly educated and skilled American workforce that can meet the advanced technological requirements of the Department of Defense," said Lisa Murphy, STARBASE North Dakota Director. Minot AFB, as a sponsor of the program, has provided an abundance of volunteers who share their enthusiasm and expertise as they speak at graduation ceremonies and lead tours on various locations around the base. These volunteers serve as role models by donating their time to the program, showing students how classroom concepts apply to real world situations. "STARBASE N.D., would not be in existence without the tremendous amount of support that has been provided by the men and women of Minot AFB," said Murphy. "The folks at Minot AFB stepped up to the plate and provided sponsorship along with additional support that has made the program extremely successful." After 18 years of success, the DoD STARBASE dream has blossomed from a single classroom to several classrooms in five regions of the country, in 34 states, the District of Columbia, Native American Reservations, and U.S. Territories. To date, the program has provided 25 hours of stimulating experiences at military bases for more than 600,000 students. STARBASE N.D. has graduated more than 100 academies to date. "STARBASE N.D. is gearing up to begin the second year of implementing the middle school mentoring program, STARBASE 2.0., an extension of the program that engages the STEM curriculum in an after school setting to 6th grade students," said Murphy. For more information about STARBASE or becoming an adult mentor, please contact Lisa Murphy at 727-3335.