CAMPUS LIFE

STEAM week explores broad range of career paths

As part of this year’s STEAM week, biology professor David Wooten will present his research on the Massasauga rattlesnake, Michigan’s only venomous snake. Courtesy of David Wooten

By Aidan Ross
Contributor

WCC will be holding its annual STEAM Week from Feb. 28 to March 2.

The three-day event will consist of various online and in-person activities highlighting topics related to science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics. It’s a part of WCC’s STEM Scholars program, which gives social, academic, and financial assistance to students majoring in STEM fields.

The event was originally started in 2018 as STEM Week, with arts being added more recently.

Susan Dentel, STEM Scholars Coordinator at WCC, commented on the importance of the arts in STEM fields.

“Any kind of product out there, there’s design, and art, and creative insight,” Dentel said.

Dentel said that, while STEAM Week is primarily directed towards students, anyone is welcome to attend.

“And that’s, I think, the way it should be,” she said.

David Wooten, a biology professor at WCC, will be giving a presentation on the biochemistry of snake venom and on his research on the Massasauga Rattlesnake, Michigan’s only venomous snake.

“They really are incredible animals with incredible adaptations,” Wooten said. “I want to convey that beauty, that fascination with them.”

Other highlights will include a panel on the liberal arts with Hava Levitt-Phillips; a presentation by Brian Ottum on astrophotography; and a demonstration by representatives of Planewave Instruments, a Michigan-based manufacturer of observatory telescopes. Attendees will also be entered in a raffle for two scholarships for WCC tuition and books.

“What I like about STEAM Week is that it plugs into so many different niches that people can find their own place in these different fields of study,” Wooten said.

Dentel said that public school teachers can stream STEAM Week sessions into classrooms through Zoom. “We partner with a lot of people, and that’s helped to make it, you know, more and more rich and successful.”

According to Dentel, the aim of STEAM Week is to give attendees interesting and new experiences and inspire students looking for their career paths.

“I want to ignite an interest in some kids in possibilities for their future careers,” she said.