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Tanzania Sewell Educates Milwaukee Youth with her Beyond STEM Program

In her earlier years Tanzania Sewell set out to be a neural surgeon. Over time she came to the realization that as a physician her abilities to treat patients would be limited to the technology that was in reach. Technology began to spark a curiosity that set her career down a path of electrical engineering.

She is currently a lead electrical engineer at GE Healthcare. Outside of her career as an engineer she works to inspire the next generation of leaders in tech. She currently shares her industry experience in the classroom as an adjunct assistant professor at MSOE in the Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Department.

Her passion to educate people in STEM is a testament to what can happen when people are exposed to career paths in STEM and are afforded opportunities to excel in the industry. Sewell continues to pay it forward by helping address the disparities in STEM fields through her program Beyond STEM.

Beyond STEM is a six week hands-on program that introduces ~40 middle school students to a multitude of STEM concepts. In the future Tanzania hopes the program will evolve to provide more in-depth opportunities for students to explore different careers in STEM.

“We seek to provide role models who are succeeding in STEM fields and break the stereotypes that our country and our culture has when it comes to folks in STEM” – Tanania Sewell on Beyond STEM

Today Beyond STEM held its closing celebration to wrap up this years session. Students and parents gathered to celebrate the student’s accomplishments and had the opportunity to listen to a panel of industry professionals share their STEM journeys(pictured below).

Industry professionals share their STEM story with participants of Beyond STEM.

Tanzania Sewell and her program Beyond STEM truly embodies the mission of The Milky Way Tech Hub. By inspiring the future leaders in tech, Beyond STEM is helping Milwaukee’s Tech Scene to be more representative of its population!

Listen to the interview of Tanzania Sewell on our podcast Down to Mars to learn more about her efforts in educating the youth in Milwaukee!

To learn more about the program contact Tanzania at beyondstemmke@gmail.com and give them a follow on instagram @beyondStemMKE

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A Month of Panels in The Milky Way!

Panels, Panels, and more Panels!

This month I had the opportunity to moderate and speak on several panels. I picked up some amazing gems along the way that I had to share!

Toward the beginning of the month I had the pleasure of being on a panel hosted by Northwestern Mutual’s African American Employee Resource Group!  It was such an honor to sit along side amazing women to discuss  navigating tech careers and sharing the importance of representation in tech! I was super thrilled to be sitting next to Keisha Howard founder of Sugar gamers. She’s a true gem ! 

Key takeaways from this panel: 

  • Communities that want to help address the racial and gender disparities in STEM fields should commit to giving time, money and resources.
  • When exploring career paths— educate yourself as much as possible on the industry and all it has to offer.
  • Technology is democratizing entrepreneurship.— Create what you want!

This month I also moderated a panel for Northwestern Mutuals Girls in Tech day!  This panel was geared toward young girls in middle school! We talked about the power of standing out! Knowing that these brilliant young women are interested in a career in STEM gives me hope for the future! 

Key takeaways: 

  • Leverage what makes you unique.
  • Ask questions early and often.
  • YouTube University is a great way to pick up a new skill!
  • It’s possible to be artsy/creative and have a passion for STEM at the same time!

Lastly, yesterday I sat on a panel hosted by Panther Hacks. Again, it was an incredible honor to sit alongside amazing leaders in Milwaukee. We had a candid conversation about Milwaukee’s entrepreneurial capabilities and the need to address Milwaukee’s segregation issues in order to ensure Milwaukee reaches its full potential. 

Key take aways:

  • Take risks!
  • It’s better to fail big than to fail small because of the level of learning along the way.
  • Don’t allow people to project their limitations on you! 
  • Never underestimate your ability to make change!
  • Keep a solid support system.. but believe in yourself enough to fly solo if you have to. 

I ‘m grateful for the community leaders in the city that made all of these amazing events possible. I especially am grateful for the amazing folks at Northwestern Mutual that continue pour their time and resources into the community to empower Milwaukee’s tech hub!

Good stuff!

Check out my new podcast – https://anchor.fm/downtomarsmke

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Jet Constellations and The Milky Way- A Moment with the Founder

Jet Constellations continues to make head way in creating an urban tech hub in Milwaukee. The Milky Way Tech Hub initiative aims to ensure Milwaukee’s tech hub is reflective of its diverse population. Watch the video below to learn more about Jet Constellations and The Milky Way initiative!

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvVF1N__qrk&w=560&h=315]
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Momentum in the Milky Way

Momentum in the Milky Way!

hackthedreamThere were many notable events last week that featured tech, entrepreneurship and networking. Several of which were in celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I was able to attend the “Hack the Dream” event Hosted by i.c.Stars. and had an amazing time!

Hack the Dream was an incredible event that aimed to highlight the work of the Office of Violence Prevention and bring non-profits and technologist in the city together to ideate solutions for the city’s problems. I had the opportunity to participate in the pitch contest and thoroughly enjoyed my experience.

Mayor Barrett

At the beginning of the event we were greeted by the Mayor who encouraged everyone in the room to continue putting forth efforts to making Milwaukee a tech hub. I was happy to hear him give Jet Constellations Milky Way initiative a shout out! Following a presentation on OVP from director Reggie Moore, representatives of the non-profits were grouped with technologist to quickly develop a solution to a problem presented by the non-profits earlier. I was paired up with Urban Underground to develop a way to leverage technology to communicate stories of disenfranchised people. After about an hour groups pitched their ideas.
Judges William Caraher Melanie Cannon Brown Adam Gabornitz & Reggie Moore chose a local grass roots organization,  Program the Parks to be the winner!

This was an inspiring event and a great way to spend MLK day. I’m looking forward to participating in similar events in the future.

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Tech-Hub for The Milky Way

stikerdesktop (1)Jet Constellations is a local startup that functions to promote STEM education in Milwaukee, consult tech oriented startups, and build a nurturing ecosystem of techies and entrepreneurs . Jet Constellations’ Milky Way initiative works to transform Milwaukee into a tech hub that represents the city’s diverse population through community workshops, panels, talks, hackathons and design thinking sessions.  It is evident diversity in STEM spurs innovation and plays a significant role in ensuring the best ideas and solutions see the light of day.  An inclusive tech scene in Milwaukee will help the city reach its full potential. Milwaukee will be known as The Milky Way, a tech hub made up of creators and innovators that are representative of its population.
Follow Jet Constellations
Instagram – @jetconstellations
Facebook- Jet Constellations