ABOUT
/əˈbout/
sySTEMic draws the authenticity of its design from its creator and chief presenter Keda Brock, an African American woman and Scientist who understands how to relay scientific knowledge to youth by referencing her own experiences. She is the embodiment of the sySTEMic mission in that her Science background created the springboard to become a change agent for young people. The passion with which the sySTEMic program is delivered is the direct result of a life changed through exposure to the Science field and inspiration to pass these experiences to other youth.
Mrs. Brock holds a Bachelor of Science in Biology, a Master of Science in Molecular Biology and has over 10 years employment experience in various areas and settings within the Science field.
The goal of sySTEMic is to increase the level of knowledge, understanding, application and analysis its participants have for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. The program is intended to introduce young people to basic scientific concepts that are very common in everyday activities. It is also intended to help foster an interest in the field of science, thereby dismissing the idea that STEM topics are “difficult” or “boring”.
sySTEMic aims to motivate youth to become problem-solvers for their communities, and to prepare them for participation in global conversations about the way science affects their personal lives.
“The STEM experiments were engaging and the students enjoyed them.
They especially loved the field trip to the beauty salon and the bridges made out of tooth picks and the cookie tower.
They enjoyed working with Ms. Keda. She always engaged them in conversation weather it was about school or the upcoming experiments.
I think it’s a great program, and my kids in the Rochester After School Academy(RASA) enjoyed having Stem at our program.”
Carmen Mayoliz, RASA Program Director
Rochester After School Academy
Some of the kids expressed how they felt about the stem program:
– “I enjoyed when we had the stem program because we were able to do different experiments.”
RASA 7th grade student
– “I enjoyed stem especially when we were able to do experiments that we could eat afterwards.”
RASA 8th grade student
“My name is Carmen Jones and I am the Youth Camp Supervisor with the City of Rochester recreation department. I have received the opportunity to meet Keda Brock about a year ago. Since then, I have had the honor of having her teach STEM programming at my program, “After School in the Park”, this school year.
My participant’s ages range from 5-13 years old, and her activities and workshops were appropriate for all ages. The youth really enjoyed her appearance, workshops and looked forward each week to Keda attending the program. As a matter of fact, they liked her program so much, we got the chance to extend our sessions from 6 to 12.
Each time Keda taught at the program: she showed up early to set up, she was well organized, used an assistant to help her prepare the materials and take photos while she taught. She always came in with a smile and eagerness to teach.
I look forward to having Keda Brock teach at the After School in the Park program for as long as I can have her.”
“I’ve known Keda Brock for approximately 3 years. During this time, I hired Mrs. Brock as a consultant to facilitate Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) activities at The Community Place of Greater Rochester (CPGR). She designed an interactive age appropriate workshop series that proved to be fun and educational for all the youth in our after school program (grades K-8th).
Prior to each activity, Mrs. Brock greets youth participants with enthusiasm and has a passion for teaching STEM – which gets youth excited to learn and participate. Activities are designed to follow grade level learning, so everyone can understand the step by step process and instructions. Some of her most popular workshop with the youth include: science-based experiments, cooking activities and ceramic art projects. Mrs. Brock has built a strong relationship with youth at CPGR, and many of them consistently ask myself and other program staff when is she coming back to do more activities.
I highly recommend Keda Brock to facilitate STEM activities with any youth group. With her passion for science, I know she will inspire many youth to love it as well and become our future leaders in STEM related fields. I look forward to working with her again!”
“I would like to give a big thumbs up to Keda Brock. She showed a diverse approch to the STEM program
she coordinated here at the Carter ST R-Center. She kept the youth engaged and was able to bring in
different types of activities that many inner city youth have not expereienced before. We look forward
to working with her again in the future.”