Success STEMs from study Published March 3, 2011 By Nicole Turner Tinker Public Affairs TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. -- The slogan for Engineers Week, Feb. 20-26, was "Reach. Respect. Recognize." This is something engineers and professionals in the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center Engineering & Technical Management Directorate sincerely promote and find new ways to incorporate. The OC-ALC/EN has a strong focus on reaching out to recruit future employees. OC-ALC/EN personnel encourage more students to embrace science and engineering concepts and the potential of becoming a professional in this area, particularly by participating in Engineers Week each year. But a program has evolved and has recently been implemented on base called "STEM" or Science Technology Engineering and Math. "STEM is the new buzz word to encourage students to pursue those areas of study, to put them at a better advantage when going to college to pursue an engineering degree," said Cynthia Kennedy, K-12 Science and Engineering Outreach coordinator in the OC-ALC/EN Workforce Development Branch. "When discussing college with students, it is ideal to impress upon them to take as much math and science as possible," she said. The STEM program is part of the Oklahoma Lt. Governor's Counsel's Race-to-the-Top, which includes national funding in support of outreach for participants. Currently there are 27 schools in the metro area, including elementary through high school, involved in the STEM program specifically through Tinker. Ms. Kennedy said there is a myriad of STEM initiatives involved. At Tinker, they provide mentors for students in the program, host career days, offer job shadowing, give tours and have an Oklahoma Aerospace Education Training Day, along with many other things. Within the Air Force, employees working in STEM-related areas are highly respected and sought after. Their duties are very essential. David Robertson, Director of the Engineering & Technical Management Directorate for the OC-ALC, said there is a direct link between the STEM work force and the Air Force's mission, particularly because weapon systems are aging and getting more complex. "The Air Force is a highly-technical service. To keep our edge we've always seeked a highly-trained STEM work force," Mr. Robertson said. "It's very important to our mission. We need to have a highly-technical work force to deal with complex technical issues as they arise." The efforts and hard work of the OC-ALC/EN work force do not go unnoticed. Each year many are recognized through award nominations for their contributions to the mission and war fighter. Winners are announced and presented at a local awards ceremony and then submitted to compete at the Air Force Materiel Command level. The next local awards banquet is scheduled from 1 to 3 p.m. on March 23 in the Tinker Club. There are 25 award categories including Junior Military Engineer, Mid-Career Civilian Engineer of the Year and Senior Civilian Engineer. Last year two OC-ALC professionals won awards at the AFMC level, and one of them even went on to compete at the Air Force level. "It shows the caliber of individuals that we have here at the [Oklahoma City Air Logistics] Center. Our STEM competence is high," Mr. Robertson said.