From the ocean’s depths to the sidewalks of the University of Rhode Island campus, two dozen Roger Williams Middle School students recently explored the many possibilities of higher education and careers in the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields.

The day started off at URI’s Bay Campus, where Danielle Duquette and Andrea Drzewianowski showed off the aquarium wonders of sharks and other sea life at the Marine Science Research Facility.

At URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography, Brian Kennedy, a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Corps Officer, took the students beneath the sea at the Inner Space Center as they viewed live video feeds from the ocean’s floor.

The visit also included a trip to URI’s main campus for lunch at Hope Commons and a tour of the Kingston facility. Tim Pelletier, outreach and education coordinator for Rhode Island NSF Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR), organizes the student trips through the Rhode Island Educational Talent Search (ETS), which provides free help to students in grades 6-12 who want to complete high school and enroll in a post-secondary institution.

“Through the EPSCoR outreach program, we are able to collaborate with agencies in the state that support the preparation of middle school students for college and provide an out-of-classroom science experience that they would not otherwise have access to,” Pelletier explained.

The URI bay and main campus visits offer a dual opportunity — to share the educational and career paths in the science and technology fields and expose students to college life.

“One of the best feelings I get from seeing these bright students engage in science activities at our state’s colleges and universities is how receptive they are to looking deeper into science and technology,” Pelletier said. “Whether it is listening to our researchers talk about their work, or feeling the texture of a summer flounder, they begin to understand that what they are being taught in the classroom applies to real life.”

Making that connection brings real life relevance to what students are doing in the classroom and opens the doors to opportunities they might not have perceived possible.  For many of the students, visiting URI is their first time on a college campus. And, Narragansett Bay may be their first close encounter with the Ocean State’s shoreline.

The ETS trips give students guidance and direction as they navigate the middle and high school experience as they learn about how their actions directly affect life in the bay’s ecosystem.

At the end of the day, said Pelletier, “They leave with a sense of direction and know that this is possible for them.”

Story and photos by Amy Dunkle