Bel Air Students to Present Solutions in Washington, D.C.

BEL AIR, MD — Students from Bel Air High School will head to Capitol Hill this winter at an event showcasing how STEM-based programs prepare them for college and careers.

Five students from Bel Air's biomedical sciences program will present projects at the Congressional Career and Technical Education Caucus. Last year, Bel Air was also represented at the event, where students showcased an emergency room floor they designed using an app they created as well as a 3D model to address problems with plaster casts.

The students who attend the caucus are tasked with finding a solution to a real-world problem, then explaining how their project works and answering questions from lawmakers.

"Last year, the students had an iPad and would pass it off to the senators and aides," Josh Clemmer, biomedical sciences lead teacher, told Patch. This year, he said he hopes the students incorporate the 3D printer that is now available to them to create a physical model that they can share.

Clemmer said the caucus provides a "cool opportunity for the kids to be inside the Senate office building and to show what they’ve learned to some pretty important people, and vouch for the type of approach to education which is very different from the traditional stand and deliver.”

Bel Air was selected to appear at the caucus by Project Lead The Way, a national initiative to address the shortage of science and health professionals, which is affiliated with the biomedical sciences program.

Joining Bel Air at the event will be students from select Project Lead the Way schools around the country.

The Maryland State Department of Education chose the Bel Air biomedical sciences program to represent Maryland "not only because it is one of the strongest in the state, but also because under your guidance at last year's event your students truly shined at this high profile event," a state education representative said in a statement to Clemmer.

At Bel Air High School, there are 258 students in the biomedical sciences program.

Students enroll as freshmen and take one course related to the field each year. Labs, study halls and guest speakers supplement their coursework. Upper Chesapeake and the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center are some of the community partners that have supported and helped shape the program, Clemmer said.

"These are the kids, from their perspective," he said, "that are going to come back and work in their hometown."

Want to see what biomedical sciences students are up to in Bel Air? Their projects will be on display during a gallery walk on May 24 for the capstone ceremony at the end of the school year.

Related: Bel Air HS Students Kick Off Biomedical Program

Image via Bel Air High School/Flickr.