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Justin Lewis (above) will serve as Iowa STEM’s next leader.
Alongside Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council Co-Chair Diane Young, Iowa Department of Education McKenzie Snow announced Justin Lewis as the STEM Bureau Chief under the Division of Innovation effective March 1. As Bureau Chief, Mr. Lewis will work closely with the Governor’s STEM Advisory Council, with all six STEM regions, with stakeholders and with STEM education advocates and collaborators throughout the state.
"Mr. Lewis brings a track record of growing STEM opportunities and expanding excellence in STEM education,” said Director McKenzie Snow. “His experience in both business and education positions him to advance Governor Reynolds’ commitment to increasing interest and achievement in STEM studies and careers."
Lewis remarks, "I am thankful for the opportunity to serve Iowa’s educational system, and I look forward to collaboratively building upon Iowa’s historic legacy as a STEM leader."
Lewis previously served as the Department's content specialist for computer science and information technology. In this capacity, he spearheaded initiatives that lead to increased student participation and expanded STEM opportunities for districts and educators statewide. With a rich background in both industry and education, Lewis is deeply committed to increasing interest and achievement in STEM, leveraging Iowa's esteemed network of STEM partnerships and building upon Iowa’s commitment to excellence in education.
 The STEM BEST Program at CAM Community School District provides career-linked learning through community partnerships.
The Iowa Classroom+Workplace Summit is fast approaching on April 10, 2024, from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Iowa Events Center, Community Choice Credit Union Convention Center, in Des Moines.
Reserve your seat today at https://iowastem.org/2024Summit! The registration deadline is April 3. This Summit is open to the public and admission is free of charge thanks to generous sponsors.
Your engagement in this conversation is crucial to help amplify solutions for connecting education and the workforce!
Presented by the Iowa Governor’s STEM Advisory Council at the Iowa Department of Education, the Summit brings together Iowans from education, business and industry, nonprofits, trade organizations, professional societies, governmental agencies, elected officials, students and others to boost the public conversation and set the stage for inspiring networks, making connections and accessing what is possible to establish learning environments that link classroom learning to real-world career opportunities.
- The morning will include a presentation by Code.org Chief Academic Officer Pat Yongpradit on the “Future of Innovation and STEM: CS and AI Education as a Foundation,” as well as a presentation by ExcelinEd Senior Advisor Quentin Suffren on credentials to careers.
- Participants will be in for inspiring remarks on the “Importance of Science Education in our World Today” by Rebecca Lucas, Kemin Industries Human Nutrition and Health Global Director of Research and Development, over the lunchtime along with the recognition of the six STEM Teacher Awardees for 2024. The STEM Teacher Award has been sponsored by Kemin Industries since 2014.
- The afternoon breakout sessions will provide an array of options for career-linked learning toward bright horizons and actionable outcomes.
- Governor Kim Reynolds will be providing closing remarks.
Please be sure to inform your colleagues and constituents of this unique opportunity and share the link to register by April 3!
Apply today to be a STEM Teacher Extern for Summer 2024
Since 2009 the STEM Teacher Externships Program has aimed to build bridges between Iowa’s workplaces and students by giving educators the opportunity during the summer to engage with real-world projects alongside knowledgeable and skilled professionals. For Summer 2024, there are 100 STEM Teacher Extern opportunities at 75 different workplaces across the state. Matching teachers and hosts is underway for another great summer. Educators have said that the STEM Teacher Externships Program is one of the most beneficial professional development opportunities they have experienced.
Here is a reflection from 2023 Extern and Southeast Valley Science Teacher Aaron Leppert about his placement with Barilla:
The externship experience far surpassed my expectations. The program places teachers first and foremost, ensuring personal growth and educational connections remain the focal point. Previous professional development opportunities have felt like activities designed to check boxes; whereas, the externship program delivered the advertised product and encouraged meaningful interactions.
The most memorable aspect of my externship lay in the curiosity my workplace environment allowed me to harness. I love learning - I chose education not only to inspire greatness in young students, but to continue developing myself as an academic. Working at Barilla placed me back into a student role. I needed to orient myself in the workplace, question anything I didn’t understand, and engage in difficult conversations outside my comfort zone. All opportunities stoked my curiosity and I found myself constantly asking, “How could I bring this back to the classroom?” or “How does this relate to the subject matter I teach?” Truly, a thought provoking summer.
Another aspect I found impactful existed in the mundane parts of the job. In the workplace, there is a lot more downtime than in education and this allowed me time to think and observe. I witnessed a positive work environment filled with coworkers willing to go above and beyond for their team. I saw the implementation of problem solving. If I say imagine a factory setting, you’ll most likely picture bent-backed, grizzled employees operating similar to the cogs of an oil-fed, smoke billowing mechanical behemoth; yet, the [employees] are all just humans working hard to bring pasta they’d be proud to serve their own families to the tables of strangers. This factory setting was filled with life and those gaps in productivity, we as educators often snuff and see as a distraction, make the job bearable and I daresay a delight.
Ultimately, my experience was both great and positively memorable.
Please visit our website at: www.IowaSTEM.org/externships to learn more or to apply for Summer 2024.
 Students working in teams to compete in the CyberSecurity Competition Designed by Docent.
The Waterloo Career Center’s cybersecurity strand was awarded STEM BEST (Businesses Engaging Students and Teachers) in 2022. The CyberSecurity Program has grown exponentially through the strong partnerships forged within the community. As a result, events such as ‘looCon IT Day’ have created unique learning opportunities for not only Waterloo students but any school interested in exploring. ‘looCon IT Day' was held at the Waterloo Career Center on March 7 with over 230 students from 29 Iowa school districts at the center to explore the emerging field of cybersecurity and learn what it takes to be a computer science and cybersecurity professional in today’s world.
A panel of Cedar Valley cybersecurity experts kicked off the day’s events and provided valuable real-world information to students. The six-person panel included Trevor Kems from Pratum, Nick Dideriksen from VGMForbin, Brandon Blankenship from ProCircular, Samantha Dahlby from NewBoCo, Tyler Coan from First Security State Bank and Todd Burzynski from UnityPoint. Students asked questions ranging from the day-to-day duties of a cybersecurity professional to what skills are needed to be successful in the field.
“I was definitely looking forward to the panel discussion the most,” said 18-year-old Waterloo senior Jack Lindaman. “I want to go into the cybersecurity field, so I wanted to hear how they got into their own positions. You could ask them anything you wanted to get a better understanding of what they do and what they needed to get there.”
Building experiences through business and education partnerships to connect students with hands-on opportunities such as looCon IT Day is what the foundation of the STEM BEST Program is all about.
“STEM BEST models across the state are allowing students to gain exposure to experiences like ‘looCon IT Day. Those programs are showing Iowa’s students that opportunities are here in our communities today,” said STEM BEST Program Manager Tanya Hunt.
Along with various industry professionals, students also had opportunities to connect with other high schoolers interested in computer science before participating in a Capture the Flag-style cybersecurity competition. Teams of three to five students were tasked with completing different online puzzles, which earned them points for each question. Although students from different skill levels were in attendance for ‘looCon IT Day, the puzzles were specifically aimed at beginner-level cybersecurity students.
Iowa Governor's STEM Advisory Council
Iowa Department of Education
214 East Bartlett Hall
University of Northern Iowa
515-335-1531
info@iowa.gov
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