By Shannon Mann
JOHNSTON COUNTY – Kaitlyn Nolte and Sloan Mann, both Johnston County Public School students, were recently selected to lead in two national programs promoting advocacy in science, technology, engineering and math.
Nolte, an 11th grader at West Johnston High School, and Mann, a 10th grader at Clayton High School, were both selected to the TechGirlz Teen Advisory Board. TechGirlz inspires middle school girls to explore the possibilities of technology- giving them new skills, empowering them to solve real-world challenges and opening their minds to new opportunities. Both Nolte and Mann are middle school alumni of the international program.
As members of the TechGirlz Teen Advisory Board they will take an active leadership role in implementing programs, promoting and advocating for TechGirlz programs in their communities and nationally.
Mann took nearly 300 hundred hours of TechGirlz courses during her middle school years and was selected into the inaugural TechPodz class in 2020 which provided a six-week curriculum on everything from cybersecurity to Arduino.
“I’m excited for this opportunity to serve at the high school level and I think it is a great chance to learn from my peers across the country, but to also encourage younger girls and inspire their passion for STEM,” said Mann. “I learned a lot of different coding languages and about artificial intelligence when I took the TechGirlz classes and I think it is important to get more girls involved in these areas.”
In addition, Nolte was selected for a 2023-2024 internship with the Student Association of STEM Advocacy. SASA coordinates and grows student advocacy efforts in Washington, D.C., and state and local governments. The program has trained more than 1,500 student advocates and in 2022 helped advocate for legislation that increased Every Student Succeeds Act Title IV Part A funding for STEM by a hundred million dollars. Nolte was part of the student team from North Carolina that advocated on Capitol Hill for this legislation.
“SASA works towards fulfilling a huge need in our country, which is promoting STEM education. As a young woman in STEM, I have learned that when we interact with younger students we are helping expose them to interests and opportunities that reach far beyond what their circumstances or surroundings may have led them to believe is possible,” said Nolte. “Advocacy for STEM education, whether it’s on the local level showing children how to build a robot, or pushing for funding for educational spending is what I consider the most important way that I can make an impact on the world around me, and it is a privilege that SASA is giving me the opportunity to continue pursuing this path.”
Both young women have been engaged in STEM advocacy and outreach for several years throughout Johnston County and the state. As members of the all-girl, FIRST Robotics Competition Team, G-Force Robotics based in Clayton, N.C., they have won awards at global robotics competitions and used their knowledge of STEM to inspire more young people in their communities. Their new leadership roles with TechGirlz and SASA will allow them to reach even further to inspire and encourage more students.
