Congresswoman Aumua Amata was one of the speakers this past weekend at American Samoa’s first ever Science Technology Engineering Mathematics (STEM) Summit at the Rex Lee Auditorium in Utulei.
The theme of this year’s summit was “Exploring STEM College, Career & Trades Pathways through Partnership”.
Aumua told students, “As the global economy grows and technology brings our world closer together, we are going to need people who have the knowledge and have developed the skills necessary to compete.
“Pacific Islanders in particular have an excellent opportunity to advance with this type of education as those careers that require such skills aren’t necessarily considered to be jobs that are geographically isolated to big cities and the like…perfect for a geographically isolated, yet technologically proficient workforce.
The event was hosted by the American Samoa STEM Partners – a public/private partnership working towards ensuring all children are STEM literate, and STEM College, Career & Trades ready.
In addition to presentations and exhibit booths, the summit also included hands on activities and information for grades K through 12th in an effort to educate the community about the different STEM programs available to students both locally and across the country.
