MIDLAND STEM STARS PRESTON KOMARA

Editor’s note: This is the fifth installment in a Midland Daily News weekly series called “STEM Stars,” which features local secondary students who are chief science officers (CSOs). These students, in grades 6-12, serve as STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) ambassadors and liaisons for STEM opportunities in their communities. This week features Preston Komara, a  seventh grader at Jefferson Middle School. When and why did you become a Chief Science

Officer?

This is my first year as a CSO and I did this because I am really interested in STEM and would like to take my education and STEM activities to the next level. What does it mean to you to be a CSO?

To be a CSO means taking responsibility, knowing a lot about STEM, and being a “teacher” for STEM education. What do you enjoy about being a CSO so far?

I (so far) enjoy that CSO Interna- tional and their partners hold all these activities that involve STEM, which, I must say, is really fun.

What is your action plan? My action plan for this year is going to get a budget for the Jefferson Middle School STEM

Club from the Jefferson Parent Advisory Committee.

What first got you interested in STEM?

What first got me interested in STEM is when my parents signed me up, at age 7, for an after-school STEM activity, and it all took off from there. Why is STEM education so important? STEM education is so important because it’s something that you will encounter in your everyday life.

What are some aspects of STEM that you feel many people aren’t aware of or don’t understand? Some aspects people may not know is, sort of as I said before, that it is something that you see every day. If someone didn’t know that, then they would avoid STEM education.

What do you like doing in your free time? In my free time, I enjoy watching movies and hanging out with my family.

What are your career aspirations? When I grow older, I would want to be an ER doctor or a family medicine doctor, or have a job doing STEM jobs/activities.

What person or people inspire you and in what way?  

One person who inspires me is one of my friends, because he is really confident in everything and is not afraid to  “speak his word.”

Is there anything else you would like to add?

One last thing I would like to add is to not ignore STEM education because, again, you will see it every single day.