The STEM Squad at Lehigh University is sending engineering students and faculty into the community in an expanding effort to support local teachers as they tackle new science standards.

The Pennsylvania STEELS Standards — short for Science, Technology & Engineering, Environmental Literacy and Sustainability — are fully in effect for the first time this school year, prioritizing inquiry-based, hands-on instruction, and providing an opportunity for Lehigh to model what such instruction looks like.

“One of the scariest things for teachers is when we’re introducing new standards,” said Chayah Wilbers, the program manager for Lehigh’s College of Engineering who coordinates the STEM Squad and is herself a master’s candidate in the College of Education.

Acknowledging that teachers might not be content experts in all the areas the new standards emphasize, the STEM Squad focused first on computer science. The goal is to help Lehigh students break down their knowledge base and learn how to apply it to age-appropriate lessons that local teachers can execute.

“We want to make it approachable,” Wilbers said.

The partnership is a two-way street, as engineering students gain leadership and public speaking skills from their work in the classroom, Wilbers said.

Volunteering in schools can initially be uncomfortable for the Lehigh students, Wilbers said, noting that “kindergartens are scary for a 20-year-old.”

Seeing the amazement that younger students get from something that seems basic to college engineers gives another perspective on STEM, Lehigh senior Amelia Otto said. As president of the Society of Women Engineers, Otto is trying to integrate her club’s outreach with the STEM Squad to expand their reach.

“It’s been really awesome to branch even further into the community,” Otto said.

STEM Squad volunteers and Lehigh University engineering students Courtney Baker, Hannah Peik and Hayden Kasberger present their aerospace engineering projects to high schoolers from Allentown’s Lincoln Leadership Academy, led by Prof. Terry Hart, Lehigh’s resident astronaut. (Maegan Anderson / Lehigh University)

Volunteers have worked with students as young as preschool. They used colored beads to record a sequence of movements and then program a robot and demonstrated how another robot could be controlled through a tablet.

“We’re living our lives at such a high level of engineering and science and going back to those things that seem so simple is sometimes difficult, especially with all these really curious students,” Otto said.

The more Lehigh’s future engineers develop their instructional skills, the more local schools can gain from the students’ expertise. The STEM Squad is set to work with Allentown, Bethlehem Area and Southern Lehigh school districts this year, and it aims to expand into other areas.

Teachers interested in learning more can fill out a form on the STEM Squad’s website to identify what kind of support they need.

In its first full year, the STEM Squad is still a “baby program,” Wilbers said. It is building off the College of Engineering’s history of community service work, including the CHOICES program that offers summer day camps for middle school students.

“Our faculty have been amazing at sharing their research and bringing it to the local schools,” Wilbers said.

Broughal Middle School students have worked with Lehigh mechanical engineering students to design and race matchbox cars. The work is “powerful,” Bethlehem Area School District STEM director Rick Amato said.

“We need our students to see themselves as engineers,” Amato said.

Broughal students participated in the design process as they built their matchbox cars, applying physics knowledge and learning to implement 3D printing. The event brought the entire eighth grade together, transforming 110 students into a cheering section for the race.

“If they can do that in more and more places, that’s great,” Amato said.

Lehigh volunteer Hannah Peik serves as president of the Lehigh University Space Initiative and has spoken to middle school students about her experiences in the aerospace field. It’s important for students to understand that what they’re learning does have relevance and that more advanced work is an attainable career path, she said.

“If kids are exposed to it from a younger age, it’s less daunting,” Peik said.

The STEM Squad will also host community events at partners such as the Da Vinci Science Center and the National Museum of Industry. It will be at the science center Oct. 15 and 16 for Career Days.

Grants from the Bosch Community Fund and B. Braun Medical Inc. augment the STEM Squad’s budget. Both Bosch and B. Braun declined to provide the amount of the grants.

https://www.mcall.com/2025/09/17/lehigh-university-stem-squad-steels-standards/