Recently Launched Online Database Connects Illinoisans To STEM Opportunities
Recently Launched Online Database Connects Illinoisans To STEM Opportunities
BY KATHERINE NEWMAN
The Creating Pathways and Access for Student Success Foundation (CPASS) recently launched a new online database that gathers all of the available Science, Technology,
Engineering, and Math (STEM) education programs, resources, and opportunities in Illinois and makes them easily accessible through one online platform. The intention of the database is to provide statewide access to STEM education opportunities for students from minority and underrepresented backgrounds.
The CPASS Foundation was established in 2018 and in many ways is a resurrection of the Chicago Area Health and Medical Careers Program which was a groundbreaking initiative that began in 1979 and provided students with viable pathways to success in health care careers and was instrumental in bringing STEM education to underserved communities at the time.
“The purpose of the Chicago Area Health and Medical Careers Program was to get students interested in health professions. That program went along from 1979 until about two years ago when the state of Illinois had a budget crunch and the money disappeared. I happened to be a graduate of the CHAMPS Program, that’s what we called it, and I wouldn’t be sitting here as a physician without it,” said Dr. Eric Whitaker, CPASS foundation chairman.
Whitaker is a prominent African American physician, public health practitioner, and health policy expert. As a high school student, Whitaker was one of the first students to enroll in the Chicago Area Health and Medical Careers Program at the Illinois Institute of Technology.
“I went to the administration at Illinois Institute of Technology and asked them if I could manage to get the state dollars and set up a new nonprofit foundation would they continue to be supportive by providing faculty and space for classes and they said they would,” said Whitaker.
“The difference I would say with this new version is that we have expanded the scope of the program to not only be a health profession pipeline but also a technology pipeline.”
The new online database created by CPASS will be a resource for students, teachers, and parents to find all of the available STEM education programs, resources, and opportunities that are available to Illinois for young people.
Even more so, the database has been designed to make STEM opportunities available to underserved students from an earlier age and increase diversity and minority representation in the healthcare and technology fields.
“As you look at the database, you will realize that there are things all over the state because we understand there are people in the more rural areas who are also African American or Hispanic and may not know about programs that are available to them. We thought it was important to capture things throughout the whole state for that reason,” said Whitaker.
This online portal is meant to be easy to navigate and will also be updated regularly. The database serves as a new foundation for what will become an ecosystem of opportunities which will include the growing number of STEM programs that CPASS will offer.
To learn more and explore the database visit www.cpassfoundation. org.
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