Isiah Perry, program director of Bright Side Opportunities Center, a local nonprofit community center that was created to address the unique needs of southwest Lancaster City by offering a wide range of services and resources to provide opportunities for all, especially the youth within the community.
Perry is the leader of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education programs, which offer kids and teenagers opportunities to explore STEM careers, engage in actives, and develop their own initiatives. Perry operates the STEM camp and Sismantel Tech programs during the summer. During the school year he runs two STEM after school programs for middle school students, STEM Boys Academy and STEM Girls Leadership Academy. Perry has counselors and assistants throughout the year that help him and the kids.
One United Lancaster spoke with Perry about the impact STEM education has on children. The following has been edited for length and clarity.
One United Lancaster: Can you share a little bit about your background and how you got to your current position? Did the STEM initiatives at Bright Side draw you to this position?
Isiah Perry: I was very content in my career at Lancaster newspaper. I worked in the circulation department, helping with dispatching and customer service. The Boys and Girls Club put out a volunteer request to reopen their clubhouse that was in Southeast Lancaster, where I live. I wanted to volunteer because I wanted to see that center reopen for the youth in my neighborhood. That project was delayed, but I spent a year and a half at other clubs with the Boys and Girls Club waiting for that clubhouse to be constructed. In that year and a half, I had awesome mentorship by Darrell Waters and other people and got bit by the bug of youth development. Within that we had a national STEM initiative called, “Imagine Science,” come to the club. I got trained, and a four-week program turned into a 12-week program, and I still had a clubhouse to run, so STEM couldn’t be our only focus. There was awesome stuff happening across town at Bright Side, who was also part of Imagine Science, and they had a robust STEM program. I saw the change that STEM made within my students at the Boys and Girls Club. They went from not participating in math, not being excited about science class, to building rovers and doing computer coding. Bright Side Opportunities Center gave the youth more opportunities to do some more hands-on STEM activities that weren’t limited by other things that I had to run at the Boys and Girls Club. So that transition was seamless. I came over and just dove into STEM. Since coming over, I’ve gone through a whole lot of training, from NASA badges programs, to processes training, and tons of youth development and STEM training. I am certified through, Dimensions of Success, as a STEM observer, and lots of different certificates and programs for various different curriculums.
One united Lancaster: Growing up in Lancaster, do you remember any STEM programs that were available?
Isiah Perry: I was a student at King Elementary School, and I went to Elizabethtown College’s STEM program, third through fifth grade. It was a program that my older brother also attended, and that was my intro into STEM. We got bussed to Elizabethtown College, and I remember we would test the water in the lake to see what type of bacteria lived in the water, and we looked at samples under the microscopes. And my favorite thing that we did was an egg drop, and that was my intro into engineering, so I really loved that. But then STEM went away for me, probably until the after-school space. In middle and high school, we really didn’t have too much hands on activities that were offered to us within science and math. I really didn’t get reintroduced to STEM until the after-school program.
One United Lancaster: Why is STEM education vital for children? Specifically, why is it valuable for children of color to have access to affordable and equitable STEM programs?
Isiah Perry: STEM really helps instill purpose into everyday life. A lot of learning takes place, and its memorization, and we don’t understand the why behind the task that we’re assigned with. “Why do I have to learn multiplication? Why do I have to learn division? Why is finding that area of a triangle important?” STEM connects those real-world applications. The STEM at Bright Side connects the dots to give them real world examples of why things matter. If we have to do find the area of a square, and there’s no reason behind finding the area, I’m not invested in learning it. But, if I know that, I’m finding the area of the parking lot, so I know how much water is causing flooding, because I care about stream health, because I know that half of the streams in Lancaster County aren’t suitable for wildlife, it adds reasoning. It adds the purpose behind learning, and it makes students driven to learn. It helps them feel accomplished about what they’re learning about. And then the other part is the economic opportunity that STEM provides students, specifically within Lancaster City, where, in the School District of Lancaster, 90% of the kids are economically disadvantaged. STEM helps give them a leg up to introduce them to careers that are going to break that cycle of poverty. It’s the difference between making 30 or $40,000 a year to making six figures a year. The biggest thing is representation saves lives…Right now, we had the huge attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) where they questioned the race of the pilot, and were saying, “Can Black people fly planes?” Representation in STEM is important, because why are we questioning the race of a pilot? Why are we questioning if Black people can fly planes when we know that the Tuskegee Airmen were revolutionary, and their flight skills were the change makers on the battlefield. It’s important things like that, knowing about Barrington Irvin being the first black man to solo fly across the entire Earth. When we have questions about, well, “Can black people attain us? Can people of color accomplish that?” When we know our contributions to society. Representation is so important because it opens kids’ minds to what they can do, what they can see, and what they’re allowed to dream about. (Related: State commission weighs public school funding equity at Lancaster hearing)
One United Lancaster: Why are programs like Sismantel Tech vital for young women to participate in while they’re in high school?
Isiah Perry: One, we have to start talking about outcomes versus barriers. Sismantel Tech is important because I have to prepare the high school girls to jump hurdles, because women are vastly underrepresented in tech, and for me to introduce them to a career and tell them, ” You can do this,” and encourage them, that’s important. But we also have to be realistic. Tech is one of the fields that women are underrepresented in. When we get to women of color, they’re vastly underrepresented. Not only do we have to prepare them for technical skills with cybersecurity, which is the future because we always want to be protected. Our bank accounts need to be protected. When we search online, there’s all this information that can be stolen. Cybersecurity is the future. We want to prepare them for the work of tomorrow, not just the work of today, but we also need to prepare them for discrimination barriers. Knowing that women are being hired less, we have to prepare them for essential skills or soft skills so they can learn how to interview and build a resume. Then, we have to prepare them for the wage gap because women are underpaid in positions where they’re doing the same work as men. We talked about salary negotiation. We prepare them for things like artificial intelligence to sweep resumes, “Are you having keywords on your resume? Are you not getting a call back because the AI deemed your name to be too ethnic.” These are real obstacles that we see happening, as technology is used more in hiring. We have to prepare the girls and set them up for success in a field that is not equitable for them yet. It’s technical skills, but it’s also making sure that they’re prepared to break those barriers and to be trailblazers, and that’s not always easy, to be the “first.” I think we highlight being the first as a huge accomplishment, and we put people up on pedestals, but we looked at Hazel Jackson, who was the first African American female teacher for School District of Lancaster, she fought for nine years. Being “the first,” doesn’t feel good to fight against a system that does not want you to be a part of it. We have to instill resilience and perseverance, but also self-care, and mental health techniques, so that when they’re in that fight for equality and equity, they’re not being burned out, they’re not losing the hope, they’re not losing the faith, and that they can continue.
One United Lancaster: How do you stay updated with the latest trends and advancements in STEM education to keep your programs relevant and effective?
Isiah Perry: The most important thing is to be in constant contact with career professionals in that field. Being tuned into LinkedIn and receiving newsletters but also being connected to companies like Cargas and Advanced Cooling Technologies…. I oftentimes will grab a career professional and say, “Can you overlook our curriculum just to make sure that we’re doing something right?” I remember going to, Precision Cobotics, and doing a tour, and I was told, “Legos aren’t a great source to use with your middle schoolers.” I love Legos, so, I was like, “how are you going to tell me?” But what I learned is, it didn’t translate well to the robotics industry. It was a great tool for younger students to start building that step mindset, but when you get into middle school and high school, you want to work with more advanced robotic technology.
One United Lancaster: What qualities do you look for when hiring staff and volunteers?
Imagination is very important, because we can teach technical skills. I can teach you how to facilitate. I can teach you how to manage a classroom. But, if you don’t have the imagination to take that kid on a second grade reading level who’s in eighth grade, to see them become successful, or to see them as a STEM professional, then you’re in the wrong line of work. We really need to instill belief in our kids. For a kid that comes into summer camp who struggles with reading, it may be a challenge for some people to say, “This can be the next engineer, or this can be the next great writer or the researcher.” Imagination goes a long way, because we need to know that our kids have endless possibilities, and we don’t want to limit their imagination for what they can accomplish. When staff don’t have that imagination, and you can’t instill it in the kids to open up their pathways, then it’s really difficult to have you work here.
One United Lancaster: What roles do partnerships with local businesses and organizations play in the success of your STEM programs?
A couple of different ways, we have lots of amazing partners that support us monetarily through our Education Improvement Tax Credit Program, which goes directly to our education programs and helps the business get a tax break for investing….We also have other partnerships with businesses that allow us to come and tour their facility. To be able to take a field trip and do a tour gives the kids insight into what a lab looks like. “What does an engineer’s desk look like?” I think it’s important for us to understand that people who work in those careers are humans. For me, it was illuminating to see that engineer’s office was a mess in the same way that my office was a mess. For a child that can’t keep their backpack organized or has a messy desk at school, you know, they’re told, “Oh, you’re not going to accomplish much because you can’t keep your papers in order.” But to understand that there are people who also operate in that same dysfunction and are still very organized, it helps to humanize people, and again, helps the kids see that they can achieve it. Other after school programs like, The Mix, who have a TANF grant that will help us pay for staffing. 4H will say, hey, here goes this training and curriculum. IU 13, will say, hey, we have these materials that you can borrow and use, or here goes this training that you can take.…. We’re connected to a global network of STEM professionals, colleges, universities, businesses, who all support STEM education. So that is amazing to be a part of, and it helps us to say we can do incredible things. Another partnership that we have is with Eastern Mennonite University, and they were able to bring in drones this past summer. Partnerships help us to make sure that our kids are getting an engaging education beyond what we can provide here at Bright Side.
One United Lancaster: What do you hope children and staff members gain from the seasonal STEM programs?
Isiah Perry: The main thing that I hope they get during our seasonal programming is using the engineering design process to solve everyday problems. I think the most important skills that both staff and kids can take away with is critical thinking skills. My uncle Dana ran a triathlon. He was an Ironman athlete, so we traveled to Spain, and whole time he kept on asking me, “How do you eat an elephant?” I’ve never ate an elephant in my life, so I didn’t know. But here is my uncle Dana, as a senior, running this Ironman race where he’s biking, swimming and running miles, and the whole time he keeps asking, “How do you eat an elephant?” After he finished the race, he asked me again, “How to eat the elephant.” I said, “I have no clue.” And he said, “One bite at a time.” Instilling that critical thinking of, how do you break down this huge problem, and using the engineering design process to say, “Okay, first, let me start and imagine. What are possible solutions. Okay. Can I make a plan? Okay, can I design it? All right, awesome. Can I build this? Okay, can I test it?” Then you go back to square one again. “What went right? What didn’t? I’m back at the imagination phase.” Understanding that everything in life, even if you have to eat a whole elephant, you take it one bite at a time, but you also have that mindset where failing is okay. I can fail fast, I can fail hard, I can fail often, but that failure is going to get me closer to my success. Learning that if you take the, “L,” you don’t lose, you learn. So that engineering design process is vital in our seasonal programs. If they take something away, remember that critical thinking is important, and there’s no problem too big, you can always break it down and find a solution.
