TAMPA, Fla — A couple of USF students are volunteering their own time, energy and resources to go into schools and mentor students on a subject very close to their minds and their hearts and that’s STEM.
Isaac Washington and Kent Huerta came up with the idea for the program Stem Mentorship Matters in their USF dorm room and now here they are just a few years later implementing it in classrooms across Tampa Bay.
WATCH full report by Robert Boyd
“We felt like there wasn’t enough STEM resources for students like ourselves when we were in high school, so we started this program while we were in college,” said Washington. “We noticed there were a lot of gaps in terms of knowledge, information and really just mentorship.”
So, in 2024, these USF Civil Engineering Students launched the program, STEM Mentorship Matters. Throughout the school year they will work with more than 150 high school students across four counties.
“I didn’t really have any mentors until I got to college, so I wanted to be that for the next generation,” said Huerta.
“It’s really unbelievable, we honestly didn’t really expect the program to grow as much has it has grown,” said Washington. “It’s really a full circle moment because we were sitting in those same seats at one point in time wishing we had the resources that we are able to provide.”
Their latest workshop took place at Gary Adult High School. Educator Eric Smith says, teachers have a lot of responsibilities, it’s nice to have some help when it comes to promoting the benefits of STEM.
“Seeing it firsthand, maybe it’s something you might be interested in majoring in, and if it is it’s a beautiful thing, and if not, obviously you know that you tried, that it’s one thing off the board,” said Smith.
The school also says, the students look at Issac and Kent more as peers, rather than authority figures.
“Everything in this world now a days is relatability, and they feel like they can relate to those guys coming here to present this to us,” said Smith.
Isaac and Kent have already built a team of more than 30 mentors, consisting of fellow college students and graduates.
“We have a lot of big companies that are bringing professionals into our workshops and into our meetings,” said Washington.
Student Dashu Ward says, it’s nice to know there are people in the community who care this much about her future.
“I think it’s amazing that they took the time out of their day to teach us something that we didn’t know,” said Ward. “It can be very beneficial because it gives us something to open our minds to, something we might want to do in the future.”
Isaac and Kent hope their voice in the community will be heard past high school, into college, and beyond.
“I feel that’s what Tampa is all about, giving back to the community,” said Huerta.
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