May 20, 2016 | Education, Stemworks
Maui Economic Development Board’s Women in Technology (WIT) Project, in partnership with the County of Maui, presented the 7th Annual Hawaii STEM Conference at the Wailea Marriott Resort on May 6-7. This year, over 880 students, teachers, and industry professionals, offering some of the most innovative global technologies, attended. “Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has the power to impact all of us,” said Isla Young, MEDB’s K-12 STEM Program Director. “Through the years, we’ve seen first-hand how empowering our youth with STEM skills and opportunities can make a difference in their lives and in the career pathways they choose to pursue.” The two-day, “download knowledge, upload service” themed event featured 43 student breakout sessions, 16 teacher professional development breakout sessions, 15 STEM competitions, a formal awards banquet, and STEM exhibit presentations.
Kicking off the event on Friday, a timed, high-energy mixer, the 5×5 Sessions, gave students the opportunity to engage five different STEM industry professionals in a ‘speed networking’ format to learn about STEM career pathways, personal experiences and insights. “MEDB’s leading effort to inspire these young minds during the annual STEM Conference, in addition to their STEMworks AFTERschool Programs, is simply amazing and greatly appreciated,” said 5×5 industry participant Kimberly Vaitu’ulala, an engineer with Maui Electric Company. “Each year Maui Electric welcomes students from WIT programs. We offer a hands-on science project that thrills participants when they finally get their circuits working!”
During the Conference, Hawaii State Governor David Ige announced that two new Microsoft “Digi Camps” will bring the latest in advanced code training to students in Maui County next year. The County and MEDB’s WIT Project are working closely with Microsoft to develop the Digi Camp agenda and promotion to local schools. “Forming an official Digital Alliance with Microsoft is a significant step toward building Maui County’s future workforce,” said Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa.”Given the latest challenges to our island’s economy, these kinds of educational opportunities can have a lasting impact.”
Every day, our lives are becoming more dependent on technology, which is why in this day and age, STEM education in the K-12 classroom is so important. The 5×5 Session is our chance to inspire the youth of Hawaii, by giving them face-to-face contact with people in STEM careers and hands-on experience with today’s technology.
Kimberly Vaitu’ulala, Maui Electric Company Engineer
May 12, 2016 | Education, Stemworks
Dr. Stacie Williams
Dr. Stacie Williams, a leading scientist and STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) outreach educator in the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Directed Energy group on Maui, has accepted a position with the Air Force Office of Scientific Research near Washington DC. During her seven years here, Williams has skillfully juggled a myriad of professional responsibilities in a challenging environment. She led several technical efforts in the areas of imagery, spectroscopy and lasers and has been the manager for AFRL’s daylight and geosynchronous earth orbit imaging programs. As the AFRL group’s STEM outreach director, Williams’ leadership was instrumental in developing a program that annually reaches more than 1,000 kindergarten through 12th grade students and teachers, and influences all 34 Maui County public schools. The program includes teacher development workshops, a STEM curriculum lending library, and opportunities for summer students. “It’s important to show our youth that science can be engaging and that they don’t have to leave Maui to work in high-technology jobs,” said Williams.
“Since 2009, Williams has been a leading advocate in securing Air Force funds to supplement Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) Women in Technology project STEM outreach programs,” said Mapu Quitazol, MEDB project manager. “She has also provided insights on high quality laboratory sets that are available for teachers to borrow from our STEM lending library. We will greatly miss her and her leadership in STEM outreach!”
Williams is featured in the film Maui in Space produced by MEDB with support from the County of Maui. Along with other AFRL officials and with researchers from the University of Hawaii’s Institute for Astronomy, the film introduces the importance of astronomy on Maui. “The video, an extraordinary educational tool, shows how our basic everyday needs require space-related functions and Maui’s important contributions to it,” said Williams. “Our goal, along with MEDB, is to continue to educate teachers and inspire students to explore the STEM fields for Hawaii’s future.”
“Working for the Air Force as a scientist is an honor,” Williams added. “I believe the AFRL and MEDB STEM programs will have a far-reaching impact on the future of our youth. I will miss Maui!”
By developing STEM programs for our youth, AFRL and MEDB are working together toward engaging Maui students at an early stage to use technology for improving Hawaii’s future.
Dr. Stacie Williams, AFRL Scientist and Outreach Education Director
May 5, 2016 | Education
The Ke Alahele Education Fund of Maui Economic Development Board (MEDB) supported Baldwin High School’s Robotics Team to compete at this year’s FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics competition, an international high school robotics contest. Baldwin Robotics was established to encourage students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects. The program provides hands-on educational experiences and life-long skills in problem solving, teamwork and leadership. “Our students learn to use equipment, tools and machines to build mechanical, electrical, and software systems,” said Gary Suter, career and technical education teacher at Baldwin High School and head advisor for Baldwin Robotics. “They also learn to use real-world STEM applications by researching, collaborating, designing, building, testing and evaluating robots for FIRST Robotics Competitions and VEX Tournaments.”
On April 1-2, Baldwin Robotics participated in the 2016 FIRST Hawaii Regional Competition in Honolulu, alongside 38 teams from around the world. During the competition, Baldwin Robotics, seeded third, formed an alliance with teams from Iolani High School and Kapolei High School. These three teams rallied together to take the crown, and will be participating in the 2016 FIRST World Championship in St. Louis, Missouri, April 27-30. “All parts of the team were really firing on all cylinders,” said Baldwin senior Dylan Copley. “We wouldn’t have been able to win without the hard work and dedication of the drivers, builders and scouts.”
This is Baldwin Robotics’ ninth year in FIRST Robotics and their third win in the past five years. “As a senior, it’s been great to see the team grow and achieve what we have this past season,” said scout Iris Lei Sanchez. “I thought it was cool to see our sketches come to life,” said senior and builder Sabrina Nassar. “Everyone contributed to the robot in their own way.” Mentor Suter said, “In my eight years of coaching robotics, I’ve never come across a better team that exhibited more passion and teamwork. I feel honored to have been able to work with these students. They are a testimony to their STEM educational programs made available through MEDB and community sponsorship.”
We wouldn’t have been able to achieve such a high level of excellence without the support of MEDB and all of our sponsors. I couldn’t have asked for a better team.
Evan Grimes, Baldwin High School Robotics Team captain, builder and driver
Apr 28, 2016 | Education, Stemworks
In recognition of the 7th Annual Hawaii STEM Conference, the Maui County Council has declared the week of May 2 as Hawaii STEM Education Week. The Maui Economic Development Board’s (MEDB) Women in Technology (WIT) Project is sponsoring the conference on May 6 and 7 in partnership with the County of Maui. STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) subjects empower students and educators with first-hand exposure to advanced technologies and the latest software training. Since the WIT program began in 2000 as a Maui pilot, it has grown to include every island, involving over 40,000 students and teachers annually. “STEM education has the power to improve all of our lives,” said Isla Young, K-12 STEM Director. “Our hope is that by equipping our youth with the right skills, tools, and opportunities we can inspire our next generation of innovators, ensuring a bright future for our community, and our world.”
Each year, the event also attracts prominent national partners and sponsors from top technology companies like Microsoft, Google, National Geographic, Apple for Education, Office of Naval Research, SketchUp, Opterra Energy Services and Environmental Systems Research Institute. This year the conference welcomes for the first time the National Security Agency, the National Science Foundation, and Cyber Watch West. The 2016 conference theme, “Download Knowledge – Upload Service,” encourages students to do innovative thinking and to demonstrate solutions to complex problems. The two-day event will feature 43 student sessions, 17 teacher sessions (designed to motivate and increase STEM learning in the classroom), 14 software competitions, a formal awards banquet, and STEM exhibit presentations. A number of student-centered competitions before and during the conference will also be held ranging from Computer Aided Design, game design, video, Geographical Information System, and Cybersecurtiy competitions. The event will also feature keynote speakers Teresa Nededog, a web developer for Enhance Digital, and Scot Refsland, Ph.D., founder and CEO of RotorSports.
“The STEM Conference gives students a true hands-on experience with new technology and insight into viable career options,” said Jennifer Suzuki, Maui Waena Intermediate School STEMworks™ teacher and advisor. “It is amazing what MEDB’s WIT team puts together here
in the middle of the Pacific Ocean for our students and teachers.”
MEDB’s WIT project has gone to great lengths to develop and launch STEMworks™ and the STEM conference. I’m very proud of them and all the students who are taking advantage of the opportunities to make all our lives better.
Bob Carroll, Maui County Council member
Apr 21, 2016 | Community
The Maui Cookie Lady, Mitzi Toro, has been in business for three extraordinary years. The first year started with baking cookies as a fundraiser for the ICU nurses who cared for her father before he passed away. The second year, making them became a favorite hobby. It wasn’t until this past year that Toro took it seriously as a business. “I had to learn about all the stuff that is not so fun, like budgets, profit margins, packaging, food compliance, business math, taxes and licensing, just to name a few,” she explained. “Once I decided to give it a full-time try, I needed help. My receipts were in a shoe box and I really was not sure what the business was costing. One day I met with the Maui Economic Development Board office, spoke with the Business Development team there, and the rest is sweet history!”
Funded by the County, MEDB offers advice and mentoring for businesses at all levels. Through this mentoring, Toro was able to gain deeper understanding of what the true costs to produce her cookies were and how these affected the price of her product. Far too often, companies don’t understand all of the costs that go into manufacturing a product. By the time they realize their mistakes, it can be too late. MEDB was able to provide tools and instruction that made understanding the relationships between cost and price simple. This kind of analysis can help project future profitability.
Toro also enrolled in MEO’s CORE-4 course which, she said, was “instrumental for me and the company’s survival. By the end of the class I had a 30-page business plan, faith in myself, and the tools to make the business both viable and feasible.” The Maui Cookie Company, chosen as one of 12 start-up businesses having the most potential, was accepted into the Maui Food Innovation Center’s Accelerator Program. “I am so grateful for three months of incredible mentoring and support from successful CEOs and representatives here on Maui. I was honored to win the top three awards and I will compete on Oahu in the near future,” said Toro.
The Maui Cookie Company is expanding, with products now being sold at select stores, hotels and restaurants. Toro currently ships nationwide and internationally. “I love crafting cookies with distinct flavors, using high quality, locally sourced ingredients,” she said. The demand for her cookies, cakes and other items, including the new Cookie Butters from Hawaii, continues to grow rapidly. A single bite shows why! For more information, visit themauicookielady.com.
The support and love from the community for our little island bakery still makes me tear up when I think about it. I feel like I am the little guy who is living the Cookie-preneur dream. The future is bright and full of sweet aroma.
Mitzi Toro, The Maui Cookie Lady
