Latest news with #LewisburgAreaHighSchool
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Lifestyle
- Yahoo
Lewisburg graduates reflect on community, growth
LEWISBURG — Bree Jun did not expect the ninth time to be a charm when she arrived at Lewisburg Area School District. Jun, one of Lewisburg Area High School's 147 graduating seniors on Tuesday night, was born in Texas, raised in China and lived in the echo of her parents' Korean culture. When she arrived at Lewisburg — her ninth school — she thought it would be another place to be lonely, but she ended up finding her community. 'This rural Pennsylvania town has meant more to me than I ever thought it could,' Jun said during the high school's 160th annual commencement ceremony at Sojka Pavilion at Bucknell University. 'Being at Lewisburg has, for so long, felt like being in one big family. I wish I could say there was one big defining moment when I felt it click for me, but that wouldn't be true. It was little moments, the almost trivial ones.' Over the last few years, Jun said she learned that a community provided her with the bravery to try, to fail, to shape herself, to develop, and eventually to succeed. 'It gives you room to grow without the fear of being left behind,' she said. 'It gives you something to hold on to when everything else is shifting. And when you finally do succeed, it will become something shared. Something earned together, making it all the more meaningful. As we leave this place, we will undoubtedly find ourselves in new spaces. And in those moments, we might feel a little out of place, uncertain of who we are and what we want.' She hopes that Lewisburg taught her classmates that community never ends. 'We carry its value with us, and we have the power to create it wherever we go,' Jun said. 'So, as you move on, build your own unique community. Learn to rely on them and let them rely on you. It's very normal to be scared, but try to be even more excited, to look for your place and your people. Congratulations, class of 2025, let's go build our next community.' Mariah Drexler encouraged her classmates to focus on the present. 'In thinking so much about the past, it's only natural to think about the big, scary yet exciting future ahead of us,' Drexler said. 'But then we would forget about this incredibly special moment right now. So I won't tell you the world is your oyster or go on about your unlimited potential. I have no doubt Lewisburg's class of 2025 will figure that out later.' Instead, she said, 'Be here. Be fully here in this moment and this upcoming summer. Take a deep breath because you did it, and you deserve to savor it.' Take pride in the accomplishments, she added. 'For every lesson you have learned, someone else has been there with you,' she said. 'For every bad day, remember the friend who lifted you up. Remember the teacher who gave you grace or the lunch lady who called you honey with a smile that brightened your day. It's these moments that matter and make high school special as well as life. These are the things we will carry with us and pass on to others.' Class President Haneef Shavers said the class of 2025 is growing its wings to fly. 'Some of us will be doctors. Some will be scientists. Athletes. Teachers. Wherever the wind takes you. We can't pause time and we have to adapt. The future is scary and we all fear the unknown, but it's inevitable.' Genesis Vazquez Ramos, a senior who attended SUN Area Technical School in New Berlin, who studied Patient Care and Technology, highlighted the importance of recognizing that career and technical education and showing that 'college-ready' and 'career-ready' are not competing goals but parallel paths to a brighter future. 'SUN Tech offered more than industry-recognized credentials; it offered the confidence that comes from mastering real tools in real time,' Vazquez Ramos said. 'Whether you're heading straight into the workforce, enlisting, or continuing your studies, the certifications dangling from your résumé aren't just paper — they're proof you have set your achievements in motion towards your future success.'
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Lewisburg Area seniors provide STEM space for young girls
LEWISBURG — Two Lewisburg Area High School seniors made it their mission to encourage younger girls to participate in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) activities. Eighteen-year-old Lewisburg residents Mariah Drexler and Alanna Jacob co-founded Girls Need Space. The monthly program aims to allow girls in the Valley to feel welcome in the STEM community. They have hosted stargazing and moon observation nights, taught about women in the male-dominated sciences and, most recently, held a workshop to build model rockets. 'It's important to find that space when you're younger and knowing there are friendly mentors who will guide you along the way,' Drexler said. 'You don't have to feel you're inadequate at a younger age or you can't do something just because you're younger. We can meet them where they have to be met. I really want this to be a mentoring space for those younger girls to feel comfortable to learn about STEM as they make their way through the school district.' Jacob said she is inspired by the next generation. 'If a 7-year-old can use a telescope or build a model rocket, what else can they do in the future?' Jacob said. 'It makes it so fun and rewarding.' Drexler and Jacob said they noticed how male-dominated the STEM fields are and wanted to encourage female students to embrace STEM education. 'Everyone talks about women in STEM, and there's a lack and a void there for girls to feel that safe space,' Drexler said. 'Growing up, I found an interest in astronomy at a really young age. I came from a place of privilege where my parents were able to let me go to NASA Space Camp. I know those opportunities aren't always there for other girls who live in our rural area. I have this passion and the ability to bring it to younger girls.' The Women Tech Network reported that women make up less than a third of the world's workforce in technology-related fields. 'The gender gap in STEM fields is particularly concerning when it comes to specific academic disciplines,' Women Tech Network reported. 'Women account for approximately 21.3 percent of those who earned a bachelor's degree in computer and information sciences, 22 percent in engineering and engineering technology, 35 percent with an economics background, and 39 percent in physical sciences, respectively.' U.S. Census data demonstrates that female workers have made enormous strides in the STEM workforce, growing from an 8 percent minority in 1970 to 28 percent of all STEM employees by 2019, according to Women Tech Network. 'Despite the progress made in 2023, there is still a considerable gender gap in the GAFAM (Google, Apple, Facebook, Amazon and Microsoft) workforce with women making up between 29 percent and 45 percent. On average only 31 percent of the GAFAM employees are female,' Women Tech Network reported. Launching rockets During a session on Feb. 22 at the high school, Drexler and Jacob talked about Katherine Johnson, an American mathematician whose calculations of orbital mechanics as a NASA employee were critical to the success of the first U.S. crewed spaceflights, including Alan Shepard's May 1961 mission Freedom 7. In 2015, President Barack Obama awarded Johnson the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian award in the United States. For two hours, Drexler and Jacob assisted six girls with constructing model rockets and then launching them. They put together the models and learned about the mechanics of what makes the rockets launch before taking their finished products outside to the field to blast off. Each girl had a chance to count down and press the button to release their rocket into the air. Lily Peterson, 10, of Lewisburg, came with her mother Ronni Peterson to build the rockets. Lily said she loves outer space and has been working on robotics in school. 'We went outside and looked at different stars through a telescope,' Lily said. 'It was really fun. We learned about different comets and different scientists. Ronni Peterson said Drexler and Jacob's leadership is inspiring. 'Seeing the high school girls run it has been nice,' Peterson said. 'I feel like it's really empowering for the younger girls to see older girls passionate about science and engineering. It's been a really great experience.' 'Exceeded expectations' Advisor Dillon Durinick, a physics, meteorology and astronomy teacher at Lewisburg Area High School, said he started working with Drexler and Jacob when they took astronomy in their sophomore year. They worked to seek funding from the Green Dragon Foundation and then reconstruct a telescope so it could be used again in class. They then approached Durnick and former high school Principal Paula Reber about the Girls Need Space idea. 'They're amazing,' Durnick said. 'I knew from having them in class they are two exceptional students. As we worked on this more and more, they exceeded expectations. I'm really proud of them for putting this together. I'm really proud of them to not be afraid to do it and put themselves out there.' Next projects Girls Need Space meets monthly. Their next workshop is for working on building the new telescope they purchased with a $6,600 grant from the Green Dragon Foundation. 'We are super excited to have a new telescope which will hopefully last the school a long time as well as some binoculars,' Drexler said. 'The grant also paid for the model rockets we built. Hopefully, our next event will be operating the telescope and we are also looking forward to showing a movie called 'Picture a Scientist,' which talks about gender inequalities in STEM.' Any female-identifying students in grades four through eight from any district are invited, Drexler said. The plan is for the program to continue through several juniors when Drexler and Jacob graduate in the spring. Jacob plans to study environmental science, physics or biology at Tufts University in Massachusetts. Drexler plans to study physics and computer science at Duke University in North Carolina.
