L to R, Dr. Soraya Coley, President, Cal Poly Pomona and Charmayne Mills Ealy, Director of Operations, STEAM:CODERS
On Tuesday, February 29, 2016, STEAM:CODERS, in conjunction with the Pasadena Chapter of the NAACP, hosted an “Education and Opportunity” reception, at Pasadena City College’s Westerbeck Recital Hall. The featured speaker for the evening was Dr. Soraya Coley, President of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona (Cal Poly Pomona). Dr. Coley shared her thoughts on education, along with the preparation and requirements needed to obtain a college degree.
In addition, she provided the audience with a clear understanding of the competitive landscape and challenges that students must overcome, in order to pure higher educational opportunities. Her presentation resonated with audience members, comprised of students, parents, faculty
L to R, Gary L. Moody, President, Pasadena NAACP, Dr. Soraya Coley, President, Cal Poly Pomona
and administrators from the Pasadena Unified School District, along with members of the local Pasadena community. Ms. Juanita West-Tillman, served as the emcee for the event.
The President of the Pasadena Chapter of the NAACP, Gary L. Moody, welcomed the audience and encouraged everyone to make a commitment to elevating the importance of education, during the early childhood years. He noted that the partnership between parents and the school district requires a very strong commitment from these stakeholders, in order for the students to experience success. The entire community has a vested interest in making sure that the educational system produces students who are prepared for
L to R, Raymond Ealy, Executive Director/Founder, STEAM:CODERS, Juanita West-Tillman, NAACP and Pasadena Police Chief Phillip Sanchez
the workforce. STEAM:CODERS is partnering with the Pasadena NAACP to address these issues, in the greater Pasadena area.
The event was designed to highlight the importance of a well-rounded STEAM (science, technology, engineering, art and math) education. A key theme of the evening was collaboration. Raymond Ealy, Executive Director and Founder of STEAM:CODERS, provided an overview of his organization’s efforts to bring STEAM-related programming to disadvantaged students in the Los Angeles County area. The “digital divide” still looms as an obstacle to academic and economic advancement. STEAM:CODERS is dedicated to teaching underrepresented and underserved students the fundamentals of science, technology, engineering, art and math (STEAM) in preparation for academic and career opportunities.
