Mt. Pleasant Christian Academy International is set to host their second annual Community Learning Experience in New York City April 13, a set of workshops targeted toward STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) students.
Last year, the CLE was initiated to find out where students were academically and propel them into new exposure and excitement. The experience challenges students aged eight to 15 in the New York City area to get their “creative juices flowing,” as one of the organizers, the Rev. Dr. Charles D. Eatman Sr., spoke positively about it. Eatman Sr. expects just under 100 students, those engaged in STEM programs, to participate in the event.
“Among the STEM workshops we will have, the CLE will also feature many others,” said Eatman Sr. “This includes puppetry, health, music and they will also have an opportunity to do writing. Last year we focused on robots that were battery operated and things with solar energy, the students built them and were able to take them away with them. It is inspiration, it is learning and it is an opportunity for them to be creative.”
MPCAI is an academic institution that has served in New York City for almost four decades and also has locations in Lawrenceville, Georgia; West Africa; Dominican Republic; and Belize. To service their New York event, a series of STEM workshops will be conducted by MPCAI faculty, Worcester State University faculty and students of Worcester State University.
The session will include breakfast, lunch and materials. All workshops will be created to motivate and inspire youths to pursue careers in these fields and include a parent workshop. The event is set to be housed at the Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, 201 Malcolm X Blvd., in Harlem and pastored by the Rev. Dr. Charles A. Curtis. Workshops will be held from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. While there is limited enrollment, parents can request an application by calling the dean of MPCAI, Cheryl Brown, at 212-222-6773 to sign up prospective students.
“As a result of these students attending the workshops, we hope that students build a better knowledge in some area of interest that they would find something in themselves that has been latent,” said Eatman Sr. “We also hope that something in them would come forth because they were inspired by the CLE 2019.”