Community Corner

Fraternity Boosts STEM Education

Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity members are mentoring middle school students as part of its Get Right Program on Robotics Technology.


Since 1996, the Alpharetta-Smyrna Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi has conducted its mentoring and tutorial program with the goal of making a positive impact among male middle school students. Since then, over 350 youth have been guided to more positive social interactions and higher scholastic pursuits.

Today, the Kappa collaboration with the Georgia Tech Research Institute is conducting a special seminar for 43 middle and high school students enrolled in its Guide Right Program on Robotics Technology at the Food Processing Technology Division (FPTD) at Tech.

Most students come from Cobb schools.

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FPTD develops next-generation technologies for processing efficiency and operational enhancement in the food processing and general manufacturing industries and works collaboratively with university and industry partners on projects involving advanced robotics and automation, imaging and sensing, environmental, energy, and worker and food safety technologies.

The demand for science and technology literacy of students coming out of high schools has never been higher, but school systems struggle to produce the science literacy required. Georgia students’ preparedness in science and math education achievement is not much better than many states across the nation.

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Educators and industrial leaders warn that our way of life and national security is at risk because we are in danger of falling further behind in science, technology, engineering, and math, the disciplines that have powered American prosperity for decades.

This collaboration between Georgia’s leading engineering research university and the Alpharetta-Smyrna Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi will expose a group of middle and high school students historically underrepresented in science and engineering careers to leading edge research being conducted in fields such as advanced imaging and sensor technology, robotics and automation systems, and food and product safety research.

The students will have opportunities to interact with scientists in small groups, and to ask questions which will enable them to understand how mechanics, physics, chemistry, mathematics and other sciences they will learn can be put to work in exciting and rewarding applications.

Lawrence King, Kappa coordinator for the event, says, “Our hosts have designed a set of project learning team exercises that will challenge these youngsters to work in teams and apply their math and reasoning abilities."

The Guide Right Program conducted by the fraternity’s men have incorporated STEM learning into its mentoring and intervention activities conducted during each school year to improve the life potential and outcomes for these challenged African American male students. The Alpharetta-Smyrna Alumni Chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi is a member of Partners in Education in Cobb County along with Marietta City Schools, Cobb County School District, and the Cobb Chamber of Commerce.

For more information about this community organization, visit www.asakappas.org.


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