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YMWIC March 2022 Newsletter


Celebrating
12 Years
of Service
Our Commitment to Excellence
Ensures Success
Quote of the Month
Motivation is what gets you started. Commitment is what keeps you going.

-- Jim Rohn
Message from Our CEO
Thank You for Your Continued Support
Exelon, along with The Museum of Science and Industry, Chicago, has made a generous donation in support of our new Science and Technology Laboratory Space and STEM Equipment in our Cheyney University facility. YMWIC sincerely appreciates their generosity.

YMWIC gives a special thank you to Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. for being the Title Sponsor for our 2022 Science Expo.
In the News
YMWIC received a generous STEM Equity Grant from Partner GSK, GlaxoSmithKline. According to GSK, the purpose of this grant is, "To further our commitment to increase the number of diverse Philadelphia students entering STEM careers by 2030.

We are grateful that GSK has selected YMWIC to be a recipient of this grant, which will be used to kick off the Philadelphia Chapter of YMWIC. You can read more about the GSK STEM Equity Grant and this year's recipients by clicking this link.
Featured Superintendent
This month, we feature Dr. Robert Sokolowski, Superintendent of the West Chester Area School District since August, 2021. Dr. Sokolowski’s career path began as a Latin teacher in the North Penn School District in Montgomery County, PA, where he also coached football. He began his tenure in West Chester in 2004 as an assistant principal at B. Reed Henderson High School, and then became the principal of Henderson in 2008. In 2013, he became the district's Director of Secondary Education. He says, “My administrative roles have all been in the West Chester Area School District first as an assistant high school principal, high school principal, Director of Secondary Education and then Assistant Superintendent.”

Dr. Sokolowski earned a doctorate in Education Leadership from Immaculata University. Read more.
Scholars Were Impressive at the
2022 Science Expo!
YMWIC hosted our 11th Annual Science Expo at B. Reed Henderson High School in West Chester on Saturday, March 5, 2022. More than 100 of our Scholars in the 3rd through 12th grades from Chester Upland, Coatesville Area, Norristown, Phoenixville Area, Upper Darby, West Chester Area, and William Penn school districts, and the Greater Philadelphia area proved that they are our future STEM Professionals!

Scholars, dressed in their formal YMWIC uniforms, presented and defended their science-related Research Projects before judges and displayed and talked about their projects to families and the community. They were quite impressive!

Finalists from each of the Scholar grade categories later presented their projects to all in attendance, and all of the Scholars’ project boards were proudly displayed. Our own Mr. Richard Roberts III delivered the Keynote address, imparting an inspiring message to Scholars about making commitments to their own futures. He encouraged them to dedicate themselves to improve their academics by making serious sacrifices. He guaranteed them that if they put in the effort, they would see the benefit, depending on their level of dedication and commitment. We salute all of our Science Expo winners: Future Stars: Liya Gebru (1st Place), Olivia Cooke (2nd Place), Jada Hitchcock (3rd Place); Pluto: Daisy Montes (1st Place), Maxam Ganges (2nd Place), Milina Dixon (3rd Place); Neptune: Delight Adeyemi (1st Place), Dayanis Morales (2nd Place), Cameron English (3rd Place); High School Teams: Bi Gui Liu and Steven Wah (1st Place), Bolu McKenna, Kadi Sore and Salimata Sore (2nd Place), Daniel Adeyemi and Janis A. Bady (3rd Place), and High School Seniors: Lauren Rose Sitek (1st Place), Steven Scherzer, Jr., (2nd Place), Isabella Mena (3rd Place). They will receive awards at the YMWIC 12th Annual Scholarship and Awards Gala on May 26, 2022. Read more.
Scholar Honors
The following Scholars have met the academic standards for Honors achievement for the first and second marking periods. Congratulations, Scholars!

Chester Upland Chapter: Honors: Mia Cannon, Malcom Lawrence, Zion Lawrence

Coatesville Chapter: Distinguished: Andrea Lewis Honors: Michael Bennett, Godfrey Johnson,
Aras Reid (Inducted into the Junior National Honor Society), Mackenzie Rojas, Matthew Thomas, Xavier McClanahan, Samuel Wilson, III

Norristown Chapter: Distinguished Honors: Angelena Camack, Dayanis Morales Salgado, Jayden Tolbert (Inducted into National Junior Honor Society); Honors: Jarrett Hayward, Ta'Mia Satterwhite; Merit: Myla Massolena, Lauren Rose Sitek

Phoenixville Chapter: Distinguished Honors: Cameron English; Honors: Kezli Kercy, Davi Sampaio

Upper Darby Chapter: Distinguished Honors: Naomi Fuiman; Honors: Gideon Dayo, Olaoluwayemi Dayo, Charlieze Ganges (Inducted into the Junior National Honor Society), Modupe Omolehinwa, Anjali Robinson-Leary, Josiah Robinson-Leary, Davion Skeete, Manuela Sosi

West Chester Chapter: Distinguished Honors: Symone Howard, Grant Lateef; Honors: Daniel Adeyemi, Delight Adeyemi, Janis A. Bady, Nicholas Bender, Tisya Dinesh, Layla Nsereko

William Penn Chapter: Distinguished Honors: Derrick Hitchcock; Honors: Inza Soumaro, Sean Watson (Inducted into the National Honor Society)
Scholar Spotlights
Coatesville Chapter: Chelsea Campos is in the 11th grade at Coatesville Area High School where she achieved 10th grade Excellency and was the first female in Coatesville history to win a Varsity Wrestling medal! She has also been inducted into the National Honor Society.

Chelsea attends Robotics at YMWIC Headquarters on weekends and really enjoys learning programming with Dr. Naomi Hampson and Mr. Roberts. She says, “Before I found YMWIC, I felt lost. Teachers would mention scholarships and opportunities but would never go further or give resources. I felt as if was falling behind and that I would be unprepared for college." Read more.
Norristown Chapter: Jayden Tolbert is an 8th grade student at North Penn Middle School. What he likes best about YMWIC is how we encourage Scholars to demonstrate true leadership and accountability. Jayden says the biggest impact the Foundation has made on him was developing his ability to collaborate effectively with others.

Jayden believes that YMWIC is the perfect opportunity for students who are looking for STEM-related careers in the future and encourages younger YMWIC Scholars to keep up with their assignments and try not to procrastinate. Read more.
Phoenixville Chapter: Matthew Saraiva Ribeiro is new to YMWIC and is in the 8th grade at Phoenixville Area Middle School. He is enjoying being a member of YMWIC and is learning so much! He especially enjoys the in-person workshops. Matthew thinks that being a Scholar at YMWIC will help him to be more professional in whatever he chooses to do. His advice to younger or potential Scholars is to, “Have fun and try your best!” He adds that YMWIC is a good program, and that they should give it a try.

Matthew would like to become a Pro Soccer Player or a Chef, possibly attending the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). In his free time, he enjoys playing soccer, football, and baseball, and playing on his Xbox.
Upper Darby Chapter: Boluwatife McKenna is an 11th grade student at Upper Darby High School and is new to YMWIC this year. She is proud to say, “I have received Distinguished Honor Roll on my report cards all through 10th grade and just received it on my first report for this school year! I also have many awards involving school behavior and academic success.” Boluwatife is also actively involved in many clubs at school. They include PSC, Student Advisory, Service Club, Science National Honor Society, National Art Honor Society, and Annenberg Science Symposium.

Boluwatife enjoys interacting with people in the Foundation especially Site Coordinator, Heather Leamon. She says Ms. Leamon has been very kind and helpful. Read more.
West Chester Chapter: Scholar Jace Richardson is in the 3rd grade at East Bradford Elementary School. He joined YMWIC this year and has enjoyed the workshop at West Chester University testing Heart Rates the most so far. He has also been inspired by robotics and encouraged to work harder on his robot.

Jace would like to be a Botanist and a Robotics Engineer in the future and has West Chester University in mind. He would tell others who don’t know about YMWIC that, “It is a place that can help you improve in science, engineering, math and robotics. Since Academic Tutoring is provided throughout the week, they also can help you improve on your schoolwork and grades” Read more.
William Penn Chapter: Sophie Faber is in the 4th grade at Ardmore Avenue Elementary School where she received the DreamBox Scholar Award for mastering math skills and the SOAR Student of the Month in October for being a good citizen and going above and beyond expectations. Sophie joined YMWIC when she was in the 3rd grade. When asked what she likes best about her YMWIC experience, she says, “I like the workshops the most. They are very interesting because there are many different science and math activities that are shared by professionals. I like the way these instructors speak to me and share the information.” Read more.
Workshops
Workshops #9
Our Elementary and Middle School Future Stars, Pluto, and Neptune Scholars learned about and created Electrical Circuits. Under the guidance of YMWIC STEM Educators, Scholars created different types of Electrical Circuits using Snap Circuit kits. Older Scholars were partnered with younger Scholars as they learned about AND Circuits (both switches need to be in the on position for the light to turn on) and OR Circuits (either of the two switches needs to be on for the light to turn on), as well as drawing engineering schematics to represent them.

Jupiter Scholars learned how viruses spread and the preventative measures that can be taken to prevent them from spreading. They did computer simulations to illustrate how a virus spreads through a population. YMWIC’s STEM Educators shared why the COVID-19 vaccine was created and how it became ready for public use in a short amount of time. Read more.
Talent and Workforce Development
Our Jupiter and Saturn high school Scholars took part in a very informative interactive Bonus Workshop on Resume Writing. Scholars were coached by YMWIC Partners from LaFrance Corporation on how to write an effective resume that highlights their skills, experiences, and interests. They created resume outlines that they can build upon throughout their high school years and after graduation. Scholars were inspired and grateful for this unique opportunity. We thank the LaFrance Volunteer Team comprised of Natalie Quinlan, Tova Freidenreich, Pete Flamini, Ryan Jeffries, Ryan Goodnight, Caroline Hayden, and Brett Damadio. LaFrance will return on April 11, 2022, for a second Bonus Workshop on Interview Skills Building.
Community Service
West Chester Chapter
The West Chester Chapter participated in the Kind Rocks Project for their second Community Service project. Scholars and parents came together for some painting fun. First, the families participated in a discussion on kindness: What is Kindness, How to be Kind to Others, and What Can be Done When Someone is Not Being Kind.  Parents made suggestions on how they can be kind to their Scholars and Scholars gave ideas on how they can be kind to their parents. Following the discussion, everyone painted inspiring and encouraging messages on rocks. Finally, a small group of Scholars was invited to deliver those rocks to the residents at the Mary Taylor House in West Chester. Read more.
College Corner
What is the greatest email a College and Career Advisor can receive? It is this one from 2020 YMWIC graduate Fallon Warnick!

Fallon says, "Back in October, my YMWIC advisor, Angela Smith, sent me a list of scholarships that engineering majors can apply for. One the scholarships was the Exelon HBCU Corporate Scholars Program. I knew I wanted to apply for it, since I had previously interned with Exelon last summer. The scholarship is a four-year commitment in which Exelon supplies the selected scholars with up to $25,000 every year ($100,000 in total if needed). Also, I get to continue to intern with Exelon in different departments and possibly secure a job in the future."

Congratulations, Fallon! We salute you.
Alumni Achievements
We at YMWIC consider our Alumni to be our greatest ambassadors. After high school when they graduate from the Foundation, we follow and support them through college graduation (undergraduate and graduate degree programs) and their careers. We are excited to share our latest Alumni news!
Leslie Galan, Class of 2021, joined YMWC when she was in the 11th grade. Leslie was always bubbly and outgoing asking for help when needed, even if it was at the 11th hour. When her senior year arrived, Leslie was stuck, unsure what to do. Should she get a job and work first, or should she go to community college despite not being sure what she wanted to do with the rest of her life? Leslie scheduled weekly check-ins with YMWIC’s College and Career Advisor, Ms. Angela Smith. Eventually, and hesitantly, she enrolled to attend Delaware County Community College.

When the call went out to alumni for this month’s Newsletter content, Leslie responded with the following: “One cool thing about this semester was testing the waters on how I can manage school and work, along with being on my own. It’s much different than high school. Everything I need to know is in my hands to figure out, and I think that makes school interesting.”

We could not be prouder of Leslie. Her words above are what we want for all our Scholars, to realize they have the power to take control of their lives.
Volunteers Help to Expand the YMWIC Robotics and 3D Printing Labs
Our featured volunteers this month both assisted YMWIC in getting up and running at our Cheyney University Headquarters. The first, Markus Kanter (at right), an Honor Student in the 9th grade at Jack M. Barrack Hebrew Academy, is quite a bundle of energy! Markus and our Mr. Roberts had a chance meeting at the Micro Center Technology Store in the checkout line. Mr. Roberts is always promoting YMWIC and our Mission and mentioned to Markus that the equipment he was purchasing was for YMWIC Scholars. That led to a conversation about Markus’ study in STEM subjects and love of technology. Read more.
Upcoming Events
12th Annual Scholarship Awards Gala

YMWIC will host our 12th Annual Scholarship and Awards Banquet on Thursday, May 26, 2022. We are excited that this year we can return to having a live event, which will be held at the Valley Forge Sheraton Hotel in King of Prussia, PA! During the Gala, we showcase our Scholars for their achievements and reward our senior Scholars with the college scholarships they earned to attend the colleges of their choice. In addition, there will be a Silent Auction, Dinner, and a Caribbean Trip-for-Two Raffle.

We will also honor industry executives who are champions in supporting YMWIC and our communities with:
  • The West Impact Award presented to Exelon Corporation, the nation’s leading competitive energy provider
  • The Educational Leadership Award for Secondary Education granted to Dr. Eric J. Becoats, Superintendent of William Penn School District
  • The Educational Leadership Award for Post-Secondary Education presented to Stephen M. Jodis, Ph.D., Dean of Herbert W. Boyer School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Computing at Saint Vincent College, in Latrobe, PA
  • The Community Leadership Award granted to Dr. Korey Bell, Community Leader and Henderson High School Counselor.

Join us as in celebrating our Scholars and community leaders as you enjoy an evening of fellowship and fun! We are now accepting donations to participate or be a part of this amazing event. To register, use this link.
YMWIC 9th Annual Scholarship and Golf Classic

Join us on Monday, August 29, 2022, at the fabulous Penn Oaks Golf Club in a Scramble Golf Tournament and Fundraiser to support our Scholarship Program for the Young Men and Women In Charge (YMWIC) Foundation, Inc. You will meet our Scholars, network, and have fun as you help us raise scholarship funds.

Golfers will receive gifts, an open buffet lunch, and an open buffet dinner. There will be a Silent Auction and prizes for our guests and winners. For non-golfers, please join us for the evening banquet and networking dinner event, which will include a buffet dinner, live jazz, and much more. You can click on this link to register.
The YMWIC 2022 Elementary School STEAM & Language Arts Camp is an exciting, educational, and fun-filled six-week experience for rising 1st-8th grade junior Scholars, who will have great experiences exploring new concepts in math, chemistry, biology, computer science, robotics, language arts, reading, art, and much more! There will be weekly field trips. Previous field trips have included The Franklin Institute, Philadelphia Zoo, Camden's Adventure Aquarium, and The Academy of Natural Sciences -- all included with registration!

The camp is scheduled for the weeks June 20, 2022, through July 29, 2022. Camp days and times vary per location; use the links below for more information about a specific camp location. After-program arrangements can be made separately. Camp locations are within our partnering school districts in Pennsylvania which includes Chester Upland, Coatesville, Norristown, Phoenixville, Upper Darby, West Chester, and William Penn. Campers at the Chester Upland and William Penn locations will be selected by school district personnel.

We are now accepting applications for the 2022 Summer STEAM & Language Arts Programs. Note: Payment Plan options are available where applicable for families meeting specific financial criteria. For more specific information about Scholars' grade levels as of September 2022, the dates, times, and cost of each camp and to register for these amazing and exciting summer programs, use these links:

  • Coatesville Camp click here.
  • Upper Darby Camp click here.
  • West Chester Camp click here.
  • Chester Upland Camp click here for more information. Contact Dr. Miguelina Grasty at Mgrasty@chesterupland.org to register.
  • Phoenixville Camp click here.
  • William Penn Camp click here for more information. Contact the William Penn District Office to register.
Donating To YMWIC
Education Improvement Tax Credit (EITC): YMWIC Foundation, Inc. is eligible to receive funds from the EITC Program which is administered by Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development. We thank those businesses that donate their EITC funding to YMWIC Foundation and encourage others to consider directing funding to our community nonprofit that provides college and career preparation for K-12 students; empowers their families; counseling, financial support and internships for YMWIC college alumni; and enriches our communities by developing a talented and skilled workforce. Please contact Rick Roberts at (610) 340-2844 if you would like to consider our YMWIC Foundation, Inc. as the recipient of your company's EITC funds.
Amazon Smile and YMWIC: Using Amazon Smile costs you nothing but can make a world of difference to our Scholars and the resources we provide. When you shop on AmazonSmile, the AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price of eligible products to the charitable organization of your choice. When making online purchases from Amazon, simply search for YMWIC Foundation or YMIC Foundation. Your product cost will not increase when donating to YMWIC.
Thanks for Your Generous Support
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