This May 3-4, the Spirit of St. Louis Air Show and STEM Expo takes place in Chesterfield. The Blue Angels will be in the air, and science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) will be on the ground. And while many companies and organizations are already involved, such as Boeing, Emerson, Mastercard and Monsanto, there are many who have not yet decided, or who are not aware of the opportunity. And, if you are anything like most companies, it is not easy wading through all the requests for support or involvement that come in every week. So, as someone who is passionate about both aviation and STEM, and realizes just how important both are to this region, here are some reasons for you to consider as to why your company should get involved with the 2014 Spirit of St. Louis Air Show and STEM Expo. 1) The need for highly-skilled STEM employees continues to grow, and those career paths start with STEM education. This event is designed to promote and encourage STEM education through hands-on, interactive experiences. 2) Growth in our region is being driven by STEM entrepreneurs, in verticals such as information technology, financial services, aviation, plant and life science and more. These are the industries of our future, and we need kids who are focused on entering those career fields in this region. 3) A community with more STEM-educated workers has a higher per-capita income level. Basically, we all win when STEM careers grow. 4) There are more STEM jobs in our region than there are qualified graduates, increasing the cost of hiring for those jobs. If we can inspire kids towards STEM, we can fill those jobs and keep more of those kids in St. Louis. 5) Your employees are already looking for ways to positively impact the community, and here is an easy way to inspire kids and build our future. 6) Your company is already looking for measurable ways to invest in the community, and here is a community outreach effort that builds your future employee base and most likely ties directly to your business goals. 7) There’s nothing quite like seeing the excitement in a kid’s eyes as he or she begins to realize their potential to do something amazing with their life. Bottom line for me is STEM is a key part of our region now. And its importance will continue to grow in the future. We need to inspire kids towards the amazing STEM careers that are available such as aviation, plant and life science, computer science, financial services, animal science, engineering, and many, many more. And the Air Show and STEM Expo will give our future a hands-on glimpse of who they could become. And many of us know just how influential those glimpses are when we are kids.
