Learning to Teach: STEAMbassadors Program at Truman Prepares Future Educators for Success

Throughout the summer, dozens of future educators have been preparing for their careers by learning how to teach STEAM (science, technology, engineering, the arts, and mathematics) activities to elementary and middle school students. The opportunity is made possible through the STEAMbassadors program, a six-week One Summer Chicago initiative based at Truman College.

After two weeks of training, the STEAMbassadors get straight to work, engaging youth from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Chicago in STEAM projects, including coding, app development, animation, virtual reality, 3D printing, podcasting, and more. STEAMbassadors are paid $17/hour, but for many, the hands-on experience is the largest benefit.

Zxumali Molokwu, who graduated from Truman College in May, is an aspiring math teacher. She participated in the STEAMbassadors program as a way to gain hands-on skills as she prepares to transfer to Northeastern University to continue her education this fall.

"This program helped me see that I really can be a teacher," Zxumali said. "I saw qualities in myself that I didn't know I had."

Zxumali shows a camper from the Boys & Girls Club how to use Xcode.

Zxumali was impressed by the young people she worked with, too. As she taught them how to use Xcode, Apple's app development program, to create digital self-portraits, she noticed how respectful and engaged the students were.

Zxumali was part of the SEED Scholarship program at Truman, which supports future educators as they start the journey towards their bachelor's degrees. Fellow SEED scholar Davidd Alvarez is a second-time STEAMbassador who participated in the program this summer. He enjoyed the experience so much last year that he decided to come back.

"I was really inspired by my experience last year, Davidd said. "I wanted to come back stronger and more confident this year."

This time around, Davidd worked with youth from the Boys & Girls Clubs on animation projects. While he didn't have any prior experience in animation, he hit the ground running, soaking it all in himself so he could teach it back to the kids.

Importantly, Davidd says the program taught him how to better communicate with and engage students, especially younger students. If one of the kids he was working with didn't originally seem interested, he would tailor the activity to help the student find joy in the project.

Davidd shares his future plans with City Colleges Chancellor Juan Salgado.

Davidd plans to graduate from Truman in May 2025 and then transfer to Illinois State University through the Teach Chicago Tomorrow program. After that, he wants to become a physical education teacher for high schoolers. Finding the joy in working with young people this summer reminded him of why he wanted to be a teacher in the first place.

"Being a teacher doesn't always have to be stressful," he said. "I want to create a better future for youth, and through this program, I was able to make kids smile."