STEM Club Founder lands college scholarship in Singapore

Nov 19, 2017 News

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“We live in a society exquisitely dependent on science and technology, in which hardly anyone knows anything about science and technology.”

These are the words of Carl Sagan who was an American astronomer, cosmologist, astrophysicist, astrobiologist, author, science popularizer, and science communicator in astronomy and other natural sciences.

It was his words which resulted in the birth of The Bishops’ High School’s Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Club [BHSSTEMC].

But according to then-student of The Bishops’ High, Masud Tyree Lewis, even as Sagan’s words evoked a level of awareness, it simultaneously pointed to the realization that “my prestigious school lacked any sort of organized, extracurricular structure for our multitude of Science Students.”

As such in an attempt to ‘fix’ this issue, my classmates and I, at that time we were in Fourth Form, with the assistance of our teachers and the National Science Coordinator, Ms. Petal Jetoo, decided to construct not only a Science Club, but a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Club, commonly known as a S.T.E.M Club.”

It was the expectation, Lewis said, that the Club would cater to the increased awareness and participation of fellow classmates in all activities pertaining to S.T.E.M.

The STEM Club was officially founded, by Lewis, in June of 2015, but as the members and leaders were young and inexperienced, the club quickly plunged into a period of dormancy. He recalled that “It was the participation of ‘The Five’, as we would later be known as, in the First Annual Science Camp, hosted by the Science Unit NCERD and The International Language Institute that the club quickly returned, this time with a new passion and vigour.”

The members of ‘The Five’ were Crystal Halley, Suraj Mohamed, Nicolai Mahangi, Lushawnae Naughton and Lewis. The skills and experiences gained from Science Camp, Lewis said, not only inspired the group on a personal level, but also inspired them to propel their school’s club in a direction that would later prove to be the best one. “In our opinion, The Science Camp was a major success,” he related.

But since the club was completely new, Lewis said that he and his colleagues found themselves in a position where they had to design and conceptualize not only the mission and aims of the club, but also the constitutional system of the club which included the committee positions, financial policies, protocols, ability of the club to survive and all other legal and functional elements of the club’s administration.

For a student, completely and solely interested in experimental sciences, Lewis noted that this task would’ve been extremely difficult. But he added, “Thanks…to my academic exposure to subjects such as Social Studies, Principles of Business and Economics, we were able to effectively outline the structure and protocols of The BHSSTEMC.”

The club’s constitution is one with rigid protocols and guidelines to not only allow for the efficient and effective functionality, but also the continued operation of the club and its mission. This was achieved, Lewis said, as the club’s constitution allowed for the selection of the Chair, two years in advance, and also the selection of directors, allowing future leaders of the club to be groomed and informed before taking over.

As it stands, the club comprises 12 committees and 135 members, all with varying degrees of authority and distinctive roles. The club is governed by a chair, who presides over the committee of 12 directors; this committee is known as the Axial Committee and is assisted by the Appendicular Committee.

Due to the magnitude and expectations of the club, there is a Supervisory Committee known as The Archon Committee, along with committees for every department of the club. As the club is highly specialized and active, there are committees assigned to Environmental Affairs, Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, Chess, Special Projects, Finance and Records, Membership and Public Relations.

Additionally, the club not only includes STEM units, but also Chess, Environmental, and Business units. This amount of specialization prevents the club from only being populated by students in the school’s Science Stream, thus making the club a generalized and appreciated one which gives every student a sense of belonging and purpose, Lewis disclosed.

Having an integral role in the club has indeed helped Lewis to evolve as an individual. He admitted, “my involvement as the Founder and Chairman of The BHSSTEMC and The Bishops’ High’s Director of Extracurricular Science has led to my development as a more responsible, determined and defined individual, because I always thought of the club as my baby and treated it accordingly.”

“Although my offices demanded copious amounts of time, energy, patience, ability and creativity, they aided in my stability as an adolescent and my friends and teachers were always there for support,” Lewis disclosed. In fact he is convinced that “being involved contributed greatly not only to my academic success in achieving 12 Grade ones and 1 Grade two, but also to my problem-solving and leadership abilities.”

Lewis currently embraces the belief that having this degree of involvement during his High School life has definitely contributed to his receipt of a scholarship to attend one of the most prestigious schools on the face of the Earth – The United World College of Southeast Asia, located in Singapore.

Lewis revealed that the College which he attends “supports, to an amazing extent, involvement in extracurricular activities such as public service, sports and creativity.” His two years at the institution will allow him to achieve an International Baccalaureate Diploma and great exposure to numerous cultures, perspectives, and opinions from over 87 countries.

In addition to his other engagements, Lewis is expected to be devoted academically to studies in Biology, Theatre and Drama, French, Environmental Systems and Societies, Mathematics, and English Language Literature.

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