TPP STEM Spotlight: Northrop Grumman Corp.
Posted for The Patuxent Partnership
Northrop Grumman Corp. sets the bar high in Southern Maryland’s STEM education and initiatives.
NGC collaborations with St. Mary’s County Public Schools include a myriad of programs designed to provide STEM education and resources to all schools within the county.
Scott Stewart, NGC’s Corporate Lead Executive for the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIRSYSCOM) at Patuxent River, is committed to ensure NGC’s Corporate Citizenship is evident in the Southern Maryland community.
In addition to financial support, NGC employees are involved in mentoring activities. According to Mr. Stewart, “Our employees volunteer and mentor students and engage in community activities whenever possible. It is through this community citizenship that we have the greatest impact.”
You will find NGC employee involvement throughout the region. Whether volunteering at an after school club like robotics or Destination Imagination, or providing direct support in the classroom as Subject Matter Experts, NGC employees are a vital resource to the students they mentor.
According to Mr. Stewart, “Introducing STEM activities in the early stages of the education process help generate interest and engagement and ultimately leads students to pursue higher education and careers in the STEM disciplines.”
On November 25, 2014, Mr. Stewart presented a NGC check to the St. Mary’s County Board of Education in the amount of $4,000, to support several robotics programs in the county. Piney Point Elementary, Ridge Elementary, and Spring Ridge Middle School received funds to put toward the purchase of additional robotics kits to accommodate the expansion of their robotics programs.
In addition to the robotics program, the newly formed Science Fair Mentorship Program was identified to receive a portion of the funds to help with first year start-up costs.
NGC provides support to many other local STEM programs, many of them centrally located at the James A. Forrest Career and Technology Center to provide access to students from across the county. Programs include:
- Patuxent River Flight Academy is modeled after the National Flight Academy in Pensacola, FL, and contains three flight simulators and various computer workstations. The classroom is designed to replicate the Operations Center aboard an aircraft carrier. This program engages students in advanced mathematical concepts and application as well as providing an opportunity to explore the mechanics of aviation and flight support.
- Natural Resource Management Program uses the latest in scientific tools and technology to instruct students in physical, biological, and chemical environments. Students use industry standard scientific instrumentation and techniques to gather and analyze data that contribute to the overall health and ecology of the world.
- Engineering Technology Program prepares students for entry into a two or four year college engineering program. Construction and fabrication of projects will emphasize project management, materials, usage, resources, information processing, and system analysis.
- Cyber Patriot is the largest high school cyber defense competition in the nation. It was created to inspire high school students toward careers in cybersecurity or other STEM disciplines critical to our Nation’s future. Conceived by the Air Force Association with Northrop Grumman as the presenting sponsor, CyberPatriot is open to all high schools or accredited home school programs around the country.
NGC also provides many scholarships to help local students experience STEM-related programs and events, to include assistance with college tuition. In 2014, students received scholarship funding for a variety of educational outreach programs, including:
- Space Camp Scholarship program provides tuition to students to attend the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville Alabama.
- MCAA Scholarship Awards: NGC partners with Marine Corps Aviation Association, John Glenn Squadron at Pax River to award $3,000 in Scholarships to students in Southern Maryland.
- Engineering Scholars program provides $240,000 in funding (one student from each of Maryland county plus Baltimore City receives $10,000) for students interested in pursuing a degree in an engineering-related field.
- STEM Scholarship program: NGC partners with BECA to award a total of $10,000 in scholarships to five students in the Southern Maryland area, each student receives a scholarships of $2000.
