Rick Platt is President and CEO of the Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority with over three decades of experience in Ohio industrial development. He is a board member of JobsOhio.
It’s simple. Clap while a group of kids walks into a building.
Four years ago, a friend invited me to join a clap-in ceremony at a youth gathering. I did. Now, I’m hooked.
My friend was opening my eyes to a broader way to reach a future workforce and an audience receptive to learning the value of STEM skills.
For 20 years, our Port Authority has made it our job to reach STEM-learning audiences and boost industry engagement.
Tewahedo Social Services brings more than 500 young people from its summer camps together each year for a youth summit. This August saw the 16th
consecutive year of the ETSS Youth Summit in central Ohio.
First Thought: Simple welcoming gesture
The clap-in is a great way to open the Youth Summit. As kids get off their buses and walk to the auditorium, the clappers do what they do: clap their hands.
We clappers quickly learn that some of the kids are lifted by our clapping right away, while some need a little more effort and attention. As a four-year veteran clapper, I know I can focus my claps on a kid to see whether I can turn a snarl into a smirk.
A simple clap is a signal of welcome.
The clapping welcomes the children to a place to learn about each other’s cultures, gain community appreciation and hone their leadership skills. It’s a metaphor for something bigger: welcoming young people into new possibilities.
Another Thought: A spark with STEM learning
Sharing the value of science, technology, engineering and math skills with youth can be just as simple. It’s another simple, welcoming gesture.
This year, our Port Authority brought industry partners along with us. Young people explored everything from the physics of gyroscopes with a spinning bike wheel to engineering by mixing colored polycarbonate plastic pieces.
Just as clapping can change a young person’s mood, seeing STEM skills at work can change how they imagine a future career.
STEM learning is happening alongside burning off energy in soccer and volleyball. Among the kids dreaming of becoming the next Lionel Messi may be some who discover they want to be the next Neil deGrasse Tyson.
Third Thought: Seeing a future
Not every spark for a future career comes from inside the four walls of a classroom. I know from experience that industry engagement can be, and is, inspiring. I’ve watched the learners of 2006 become the engineers and scientists of 2026.
Sometimes, simple industry engagement is all it takes to inspire. It’s worth it if you inspire just one kid.
STEM learning can give a young person hope for a future career. The local relevance of meeting companies in their own community plants seeds for those future careers right here in central Ohio.
Five hundred young people gathered in one place. Welcomed with a clap. Introduced to real-world STEM. Encouraged to imagine their future.
Call me an optimist. I believe these simple, welcoming gestures translate well.
Rick Platt is President and CEO of the Heath-Newark-Licking County Port Authority with over three decades of experience in Ohio industrial development. He is a board member of JobsOhio.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: How a simple clap helps kids imagine future careers | Column
