The Honorable Dr. Ronald M. Sega, Undersecretary of the Air Force and a former NASA astronaut, invited FAMESTM founder, Avik B. Ganguly to the Pentagon to meet with him. Avik was inspired by Dr. Sega’s National Defense Education Program to attract more Americans to STEM at all levels. Avik envisioned a program that would bring STEM education to the underprivileged children through mentoring, hands-on, and computer-based activities. Learn for Fun – now FAMES – was born. During their discussion, Dr. Sega encouraged Avik to continue his work and to think about how to measure the success of his organization’s programs. Avik shared the knowledge that although the hands-on science and software programs were a good start, more help would be needed to keep and grow the interest.
One of the avenues for maintaining and expanding interest is through mentorship and internships. Avik is working with local industries to establish a mentorship program where the children can reach out beyond their own world by means of e-mails, phone calls and visits. Mentors will help the children in their daily education and help them identify summer internship opportunities.