TAME

Texas Alliance for Minorities in Engineering

Stepping Up for STEM in Wichita Falls: Denise Simmons

Stepping Up for STEM in Wichita Falls: Denise Simmons

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Stepping Up For STEM in Wichita Falls: Denise Simmons
Above, left: Denise Simmons in the classroom. Above, right: students working on projects in local STEM programs with Denise.

“STEM levels the playing field. Anybody can be whatever they want. If kids are working with a 3D printer to design a prosthetic hand, they’re not thinking about socioeconomic barriers. They’re thinking about what they can do with that printer.”

Dr. Denise Simmons is assistant professor of Educational Leadership & Technology at Midwestern State University. With co-chair Marcie Williford, she is the new TAME Chapter Leader in TAME’s Wichita Falls Chapter. This story is the final segment in a three-part series celebrating past and present leadership in Wichita Falls.

What’s going on with TAME in Wichita Falls?
We have so much going on! Marcie Williford and I are the new co-chairs of TAME in Wichita Falls. [See our interview with Marcie.]  At our first meeting, we overwhelmed each other with all the ideas we had, so we decided to focus on the first year.  First, we want to introduce the TAME Trailblazer to Region 9 and make sure that everyone in our region knows about TAME. We’re also working to create an abundance of TAME Clubs in our region and make sure they are supported.  
 
We couldn’t do this without the work of Ed Downing, who was the TAME Chapter Chair before us. [See our interview with Ed] Without him, we wouldn’t have this kind of reception. Thanks to Mr. Downing, doors are wide open and arms are wide open.  
 
Obviously, you’re a big champion of STEM education!  Why do you think it’s so important?

Whether you think about it from a STEM point of view or as an educator, STEM is a game-changer.  Students need 21st century skills to succeed – not just hard knowledge, but also soft skills. STEM teaches those skills.  
 
STEM levels the playing field. Anybody can be whatever they want. If kids are working with a 3D printer to design a prosthetic hand, they’re not thinking about socioeconomic barriers. They’re thinking about what else they can do with that printer.  
 
It troubles me to watch the news and see people who are getting into trouble, who are incarcerated or homeless. We as educators have the catalyst to keep kids on track for college and careers. In essence, TAME Clubs are creating a college-ready group of students.  

 
 
What got you involved with TAME?

This is my second year at MSU. Before that, I was the STEM project director for La Marque ISD. The district was facing a lot of challenges and we were working to turn it around through STEM programs.  It’s a financially impoverished community, but the students are striving and they are succeeding. I was able to make connections and bring in experts. We did project-based learning pertinent to our area, including water robotics and biotechnology.  

When I got to MSU, I saw there was an engineering department, and I went right over. The first thing I did was help run the YES Camp, the Young Engineers Summer Camp. That’s when I met Mr. Downing.  I was recruiting students and needless to say I recruited more than we could handle. It was fantastic. They were expecting 20 students and we had 65.   

As to how I became a co-chair of TAME, I’m still scratching my head, but I was invited and I love it! 

Marcie and I are very involved with the ISD. We have a wonderful partnership with the new superintendent, Mike Kuhrt. His expectation is that every campus in the Wichita Falls ISD will have a TAME club, and the elementary schools are jumping on board.  

TAME clubs make a positive difference not just for the kids but also for the teachers. We don’t just say, start a club, we provide training and support for the teachers. We make sure they have access to effective activities that are also easy and inexpensive, and that help prepare students for the STEM Competitions.  

I just wrote a grant to bring undergraduates from different disciplines into TAME clubs.  The idea is not just that they will provide support, but that kids can see people who look like them succeeding and think, if he or she can do it, so can I.  I was one of those kids myself.  I was motivated by positive peer pressure to go to college.  I can promise you I wasn’t thinking about college one bit until my best friend told me she was going.  

 

You’ve just returned from traveling. What were you doing?
Well, it’s funny. I was in the Dominican Republic at a resort, and I ended up running an informal STEM camp for the kids there. It was such a great opportunity! There were kids from all over the world. I thought, while the adults are doing yoga and aerobics and all that, we can do project-based learning. We looked at the tides and at the wind and talked about windpower and how it could work there. There was one child there in a wheelchair. The resort wasn’t set up to be accessible, so the kids started thinking about how we could improve the paths and the wheelchair so that he could get everywhere they were going.  
 
The things these kids were saying were just amazing. One kid said at the beginning that he wanted to be a basketball player, but guess what?  By the end of the week, we had another engineer.  

What’s next for TAME in Wichita Falls?

Thanks to TAME and to the American Honda Foundation, the TAME Trailblazer will visit Region 9 on Friday, March 16th.  If you’re in the area, mark your calendars! Students will be involved in designing and testing Stomp Rockets, and door prizes will be awarded.   

 

By Jessie Temple, October 19, 2015.

“Wichita Falls will create a pedigree of students, without regard to race, ethnicity or gender, who are superb – excited, confident and ready for college.  These kids will come back and be leaders in their community.“
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