June 19, 2023
Retired Black & Veatch executive is inaugural speaker at STEM showcase
The Summer STEM Showcase — held on International Women in Engineering Day — will feature the inaugural address of the College of Education's Roger and Liz Rea STEAM Speaker Series.
Cindy Wallis-Lage, a Carl R. Ice College of Engineering alumna who served Black & Veatch as director of sustainability and resilience and president of the company's global water business, will kick off the annual Summer STEM Showcase. Her presentation will be held at 10 a.m. Friday, June 23, in Room 1109 of Engineering Hall. The showcase is free and open to the public.
Lage's address will encourage students to see the power between STEM and our daily lives and to consider a career in a STEM field.
The Reas said they created the speaker series because they believe the key to the future is young people understanding the STEAM fields' role in technical areas. It will also ready them for a future that is both diverse and technologically complex.
Debbie Mercer, dean of the College of Education, believes building a passion for the STEM fields in younger students is imperative. She also believes bringing them to campus gives them the confidence to pursue higher education.
"The showcase serves as a celebration of what the hundreds of middle school students — or, as we like to refer to them, future doctors, physicists, app developers, scientists, conservationists, and one of our favorites, educators — learned during the summer institute. We hope the community supports the students during the showcase because that level of authenticity is remarkably meaningful."
The Summer STEM Institute is a joint venture between the College of Education and Manhattan-Ogden USD 383. Approximately 25 tables will be on display at the showcase highlighting various class topics where participants can also interact with middle school students. The showcase closes at 12:30 p.m.
The Reas live in Omaha, Nebraska, and are lifelong educators who have been recognized for their professional accomplishments and service activities at the local, state and national levels.