Basketball Student Strives to Inspire Black Teens in STEM
October 16, 2020
Wtih the desire to provide opportunities for Black students who are interested in STEM education, star Rutgers University - New Brunswick men’s basketball player, Myles Johnson, has created BLKdev, a new non-profit centered around a goal of ‘Learn to Be More’.
“Ever since I have been studying STEM, back to middle school, I’ve never had a Black teacher,” said Johnson. “We have poor representation, and I want to help change that.”
Johnson, himself an electrical and computer engineerig major, started BLKdev to effect that change, providing scholarships, information and networking opportunities to support Black students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
With the help of a small team of college students, including his classmate Joe Barr and young STEM professionals, he established a plan to grow a network that is not only professional, but personal. The organization’s website also features educational resources, scholarship application information, Black STEM news and a collection of stories that reflect representation to the young students they want to inspire.
BLKdev is working to build its membership base and its partnership portfolio in order to enable sustained growth and the establishment of a Black STEM Scholarship Fund. In the short term, the team is focused on pop-up events and seminars to teach coding and other STEM fundamentals.
“We find and facilitate free educational resources to promote STEM. Our age demographic is middle and early high schoolers, when people are beginning to consider what they might do as a career, said Johnson. "I intend to host an online class to teach coding in C++,” said Johnson. “I’ve written up lecture plans. With Zoom and the online streaming platforms, it's more than feasible to do and reach our audience.”
Johnson is a two-time Big Ten All-Academic selection and Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) member. Alongside this new organization, he and his teammates have focused on returning the NCAA Tournament, which was subsequently halted because of coronavirus. That goal requires a shared commitment underscored by a support system that nurtures everyone’s efforts, both on and off the court.
“My coaches and teammates have been great,” said Johnson. “Coach Pikiell told me that he was proud of me for using my position as a Big Ten student-athlete to reach as many people as I can. I’m blessed to be surrounded by supportive people.”
The Sport and STEM Alliance is a coalition of like-minded, leading global organizations inspiring passion in STEM education through sport. Learn more and join us today.
This story first appeared on Rutgers Today.