PR youth heading down a pathway to STEM

PRIEST RIVER — The National Youth Leadership Forum’s Pathways to STEM program is a unique, six-day experience for elementary students who will become the next generation of innovators, engineers, doctors, software developers, and scientists.

It is a prestigious program, with only a few select third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students from across the country selected to attend each year. So when a letter came in the mail addressed to the parents of 8-year-old Brady Laffoon, with a gold seal on the envelope, his mom thought it was probably junk mail. Upon opening it, however, Malarie Laffoon beamed with pride. Her son was selected as one of about 20 kids who will attend the next Pathways to STEM program at Northwest University in Seattle on July 11-16.

“This whole thing is just super exciting,” Malarie Laffoon said.

Brady, who is in Elanna Philopoff’s third-grade class at Priest River Elementary, was nominated for the program by PRE first-grade teacher Makinzie Adamson. According to the letter from NYLF inviting Brady to participate, he was selected because Adamson “recognizes him as a student who already demonstrates exceptional maturity, scholastic merit and leadership potential, even at his young age.”

According to the letter from NYLF, Pathways to STEM is an Envision program where Brady will have a chance to meet new friends, gain an understanding of his own abilities and be better prepared to become an effective leader at his school. The letter states that the program will provide Brady with a creative, nurturing environment in which to understand and practice the skills of effective leadership and gain greater self-awareness and empathy. He will also have the opportunity to explore a future career in three “exciting” STEM pathways — medicine, engineering and CSI investigation.

Brady will have the chance to practice medical techniques during a realistic simulation in collaboration with Stanford Medicine, created by wilderness medicine expert Dr. Paul Auerbach and simulation expert Dr. Rebecca Smith-Coggins. The simulation allows students to learn how to control minor, but serious injuries and practice the proper application of medical splints. Laffoon said they will also dissect a cow heart, and the kids each get to work with an mBot robot, which they will get to take home with them at the end of the program.

At first Brady told his mom he didn’t want to go, as he is only 8. Laffoon said she was ready to let him make the decision — it was expensive and he would be away from home for six days. But after a couple of days of thinking about it, Laffoon said she couldn’t sleep at night, because it would be a life-changing opportunity for her son. So she talked to him and got him excited about going and, while he is still nervous about it, he will be heading to Seattle in July. His birthday is in May, so will be 9 years old when he attends the program.

He asked her at one point if he could wait until he was a little bit older to go, but it is unlikely the opportunity would present itself again because few students are selected for the program each year. Last year there were only 16 students who attended, Laffoon said, and this year there will be 22.

“This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, which is why I was pretty adamant about him going,” Laffoon said.

The tuition for the program is $2,500 and a GoFundMe page has been set up in order for Brady to raise the money for the program where, according to the website envisionexperience.com, he will come away with a clear view of his pathway toward a lifetime of rewarding work and studies, and with increased self-confidence, self-awareness, and independence.

“I want (Brady) to see that hard work pays off,” Laffoon said, adding that he helped cut and split wood with his dad during the summer for a trip to the zoo in Seattle. “But I also want him to see that when he works hard in school, it pays off.”

Anyone who would like to help Brady attend the Pathways to STEM program can donate through the GoFundMe page at bit.ly/2LGh0tG.

Mary Malone can be reached by email at mmalone@bonnercountydailybee.com and follow her on Twitter @MaryDailyBee.