STEAM Spark - Think STEAM Careers, Podcast with Dr. Olufade

From Struggling Student to STEM Innovator: Dr. Javis Sulcer's Journey and the Mission to Democratize Education

Subscriber Episode • • Dr. Ayo Olufade • Season 2 • Episode 8

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STEAM Sparks - Think STEAM Careers, Podcast

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How did Dr. Javis Sulcer transform from a high school student with a 1.8 GPA to a PhD holder in nuclear science and engineering and the co-founder and COO of LINGO? Join us for an inspiring conversation where Dr. Sulcer opens up about his journey, the challenges he overcame, such as a bad GPA in high school, and the key figures who ignited his passion for STEM. We discuss the mission behind Lingo, his innovative ed-tech startup that democratizes STEM education through self-paced coding kits and hands-on projects, making it accessible and engaging for students from all walks of life.

This episode spotlights transformative STEM education journeys that redefine what's possible. Hear the incredible stories of individuals like Aisha Bowe, who started at community college, earned two aerospace engineering degrees from the University of Michigan, and worked at NASA before co-founding LINGO. We also share Sulcer's path of perseverance, earning two degrees from Cornell and an MBA from Harvard. Dr. Sulcer illustrates how Lingo connects students' daily experiences to technological innovations through hands-on projects, instilling confidence and fostering problem-solving skills.

We also dive into the empowering initiative "We Are STEM," a notebook filled with motivational quotes from successful men of color designed to inspire middle and high school students. Dr. Sulcer shares his personal narrative of balancing athletics and academics, emphasizing the importance of hard work, community support, and faith. Discover diverse career opportunities within the sports industry beyond being an athlete, and learn how students can apply the same dedication from sports to their academic pursuits. This episode is packed with inspiration, practical advice, and a testament to the potential for greatness when equipped with the right resources and support.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to another exciting episode of STEAM Spark STEAM Career Podcast. I am Dr Ayol Ufadi. Today I have a truly inspiring guest, dr Javis Salsa. Dr Salsa is the co-founder and COO of Lingo. Lingo is an innovative ed tech startup revolutionizing STEM education. One of the things that I love about LingQ is the fact that it is they make a coding kit that helps students build their foundational skills in engineering.

Speaker 1:

But one of the reasons why I really truly wanted to I want to talk to Dr Salsa is the fact that he is an inspiration. Now, if you hear his story, you will find his story very inspirational Now, from overcoming academic challenge in high school to earning a PhD in nuclear science and engineering. That is incredible. Dr Salsa has an incredible story of resilience, determination and success. Now his work at Lingo makes STEM educational, very accessible and engaging for students from all backgrounds. So today we are thrilled and excited to have with us here Dr Salsa to share his journey and his insight with us today. Dr Salsa, thank you for coming on. Steam Spark Think STEAM Career podcast. How have you been, sir?

Speaker 2:

Great and I'm excited about this conversation and looking forward to engaging and together inspiring the next generation and all those maybe listening parents, students, teachers so really looking forward to the conversation and how we can elevate and really inspire them to accomplish all what they are designed to do, because they can do it. We're no different, right? I'm no different. We're no different. We want to provide them what they may need, that extra push that may get them to thinking differently about what they can do, because it's limitless.

Speaker 1:

Thank you so much, Dr Salsa. Before learning from your inspirational journey and the fantastic work that you're doing at Lingo, let's start with a fun question to break the ice. So here's a question for you. If you could have a dinner with any scientist or engineer living or from history, who would it be and why?

Speaker 2:

Okay, it's hard to say one, so I'll start. I'm gonna give you four Quickly. So I'll say Sir Isaac Newton, einstein, and then I'll say Mark Dean and Dr Frank S Green, dr Mark Green, mr Dr Frank S Green and Dr Mark Dean, those who most people may not know who they are, but they know who Isaac Newton, they know about Einstein. So let me just focus on why. Dr Frank S Green? He's one of the early African-American men in Silicon Valley who was a VC and he was with the group, the initial group of technologists and innovators who started Intel, initial group of technologists and innovators who started Intel. But he started to stay with the company he was with and not leave where he was to go, start with Grove and others who started and more who started Intel, and he's done tremendous work in the community. Matter of fact, there's a nonprofit organization in the Bay Area called the Dr Frank S Green Scholar Program that hosts one of the largest fairs for students in the Bay Area, maybe even in the state of California, from elementary school all the way through high school and I've been a lead judge for that organization and to meet him, to understand his journey, the challenges he faced, how he overcame them and how he transitioned from being an engineer inventor to a VC investing in competent things of that nature. So that's one.

Speaker 2:

Next is Dr Mark Dean. Many may not know that he holds at least, I think, three or maybe more of the patents on original PC and some of the underlying technology that we take for granted and use. All the time he played an instrumental role, I think. He's an IBM fellow, also an HBCU alum. He did undergrad at Tennessee State, did his graduate work at Stanford, I believe, and so he's someone else I would love to have a conversation with. I met him maybe once, many years ago, but just to have a conversation, because at that time I think I may have been in grad school, even undergraduate, maybe met him at a NASB conference or something, but in any case he's the one I would love to be to have a conversation with as well.

Speaker 1:

Wow, first of all, I just would like to say anytime I think about computers, the first people that come to my mind, of course, is Mr Gates and, of course, steve Jobs, but I can never imagine anybody else. But, forgive my ignorance.

Speaker 2:

No, that's fine. I don't know either. That would play an instrumental role in some of the technology we are using today. They're just not profiled in a way that others have been. Steve Jobs is definitely one I would have loved to have met as well, no doubt, and if I have a conversation with Bill Gates, that would be amazing as well. But those are two that come to mind because of the role they've played in some underlying technology that we use today, and they're from our community and they're great and have been and still are a great inspiration to me.

Speaker 1:

Excellent. It's good to know that, Actually, if any students are listening, find a role model, someone that is inspirational. Just Dr Salsa. Dr Salsa, you and another famous scientist, Ayesha Bowie, founded and created Lingo.

Speaker 2:

Rocket scientist. Former rocket scientist. Nasa rocket scientist.

Speaker 1:

Wow, that is a major name. That is a major name within the African-American community. So can you tell us a little bit about Lingo please?

Speaker 2:

Yes. So Lingo, as he said, is an edtech startup and we build a self-paced coding kit that empowers students to build at home, which can be done through our subscription model, or in the classroom. We have content that expands both at home and a tool to help teachers bring STEM experiences hands-on experiences to life, coupled with coding and with hardware. And that's leading, on a nutshell, to what our mission is to eliminate the barrier to entry for students undexposed to STEM opportunities and to inspire the next generation. That's what our mission is, and we do that through our work in the community, through nonprofits, corporations and schools, and working with parents at home.

Speaker 1:

Excellent If I go to your website. I'm going to go to your website now, so in case if parents are interested. By the way, I love your logo. That is really children's friendly.

Speaker 2:

Yes, thank you by the way I love your logo. That is really children's friendly.

Speaker 1:

Yes, thank you. So that is really good. And I also noticed there is actually a video. Let's check out the video if you don't mind. Yes, let's do it there we go, there you go.

Speaker 2:

The volume is not on.

Speaker 3:

The exciting world of lingo. Lingo is a coding kit designed to teach the foundations of computer science. With every project that we build together, you will gain confidence, learn hands-on real-world skills and develop the most essential skills for life problem solving. Lingo is based on engineering skills I learned at NASA and mastered as a successful aerospace engineer. I worked on satellites. I worked on aircraft and I'm now headed to space as a citizen astronaut. In each lesson, lingo instructors guide you step by step through writing real code and building projects with hardware that real engineers use, no prior experience necessary. You will learn about self-driving cars, artificial intelligence and machine learning, how to compose your own songs and even how to keep your plane alive. The Lingo Kit was developed for everyone to learn and explore science and technology while having fun. And the best part is all Lingo kits are reusable. You can use these same components to create your own invention. I'm excited for you to learn with us at Lingo.

Speaker 1:

I'm also excited to learn about this. So she said it is student-friendly. And then one of the things that I love wow, look at this. It says how it works, build code and innovate.

Speaker 2:

Well, I love that the students and educators alike wow, I really love that.

Speaker 1:

This is beautiful. Oh my god, uh, wow, I'm parents too. I take it, yes.

Speaker 2:

Wow. The cost for subscription is monthly, is 30, let's say $35 a month. Yes, and that's. You get the kit and all that comes with it and each month you get a digital drop of new content every month With one kit, as mentioned in the video. It's one kit that's reusable, that can be done with multiple projects. So you get the kit and then after that you get multiple lessons or projects to do on a monthly basis.

Speaker 1:

I see I see, and for teachers is there like a lesson plan that comes with it?

Speaker 2:

Yes, we have a custom package.

Speaker 2:

So there, like you see on our site, there's no packages on the site for schools in terms of pricing, but we do custom pricing packages based on what a teacher wants to do in the classroom.

Speaker 2:

So we do have content with assessments and things of that nature that can be done in the classroom.

Speaker 2:

So the description is for at home, direct to consumer. Then we have packages that we curate for nonprofits and schools to use lingo in the classroom, with lessons and modules and assessments and things of that nature as well, and there's also an online portal with instructional, step-by-step instructional videos that come along with it, instructional guides for teachers and then also tech training, stem training, as in teacher training, and professional development for teachers, so that, as we always say, we don't want our kids to become doorstops in the classroom, but that they will if teachers are not properly trained and supported, not only when they purchase, but also throughout the process, because we believe that, regardless of what teacher has the experience or not, we want to position them with the confidence they need in order to implement this and give their students access to this hands-on, engaging learning experience with lingo based on real life applications of different technologies that they are exposed to and aware of but don't understand, maybe, how they have been built. And we give them an opportunity to do that through the experiences we provide at lingo absolutely, absolutely.

Speaker 1:

and one of the things that I also wanted to while I'm just looking at this is easy to use, so parents don't have to feel overwhelmed, or the kids don't have to really feel overwhelmed, and also I like the fact that you said many parts of this are reusable.

Speaker 2:

It's reusable, correct.

Speaker 1:

You don't really have to break the bank. So one question, though, that I have for you, dr Salsa, that I have for you, dr Salsa. So for parents who may not see the importance of building the foundation at this point, can you please say one or two things why it is important to get the kids involved by using this product, at least kids like this.

Speaker 2:

Yeah. So I'll start with why the company is called Lingo. It's called Lingo because we believe every student, regardless of what career path they may choose, should have an underlying understanding, a fundamental understanding of technology terms and technology in general. Because, as we know, regardless of what career you choose sports, entertainment, business, marketing the common thread is technology. And in the same way that your son or daughter may know the lingo of their particular sport if they play sports or music, if you say a crossover for basketball, people know what a crossover is. That's lingo. If you are playing football and your son plays, or your daughter or whoever is playing cornerback, you hear cover two as a cornerback. You know what that means. You're playing a receiver, you hear a certain term down and out, you know what that means. That's lingo. If you're in business, you're an educator, there's lingo that you understand if you're in that space.

Speaker 2:

So we want students to be comfortable navigating the space of tech, regardless of what career path they choose, which is why parents should expose their students, because it builds their confidence, their problem-solving ability, which we all need, regardless of what you again pursue.

Speaker 2:

We are being hired, or we are creating companies, or creating inventions or whatever it may be, or innovating to solve problems that the world has right. We want to solve those problems with. Technology is one way, and so this is one way to build that problem solving quote unquote muscle and the innovation muscle in whatever career path you may choose, because you can innovate not just in tech but in a host of other areas. But at the end of the day, at the underlying foundation is going to be technology in some capacity. Right, and so getting exposed early and getting access early allow your students to not be intimidated or afraid, and even if they are, lingo is there to help them get over that barrier, because we make it easy to use and access at their own pace, at their own learning pace, their own learning style. With the videos, with the booklet, with the hands-on, with the coding, all the different learning modalities allow students to learn in a way that works best for them and we got them along.

Speaker 1:

I think this could also really be very useful for young ladies, as we know, not only just for even the male African-Americans less represented in the STEM field, but we all know about the representation of women and girls in technology and in computer science, and one of the reasons why is self-esteem and feeling like they can't really do it, or I can just see them now feeling like I can't really do it. But when you start building this foundation, that goes a long way. And, by the way, this is a company within our community. I'm not sure many parents know that we do have companies within our community that actually recognize the fact that there are certain dynamics that is taking place in terms of learning when it comes to our people. So you are approaching it concerning the culture, and I think that's a big deal that needs to be emphasized. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Speaker 2:

No, you're correct. And two short stories. Faisal Bo she didn't take a traditional route to college. She didn't do as well in high school either, Ended up going to community college, Left community college and went on to University of Michigan and got two degrees in aerospace engineering and then went on to NASA, right, Wow, and she's the founding CEO of Lingo.

Speaker 2:

Then we have the young lady you saw in the video with the braids in one instance. That's Danielle. Danielle has two degrees from Cornell in electrical and computer engineering. Wow, she got to Cornell.

Speaker 2:

They didn't think she had what it took to actually major in that field. She, she get two degrees from Cornell, undergrad and a master's and a MBA from Harvard, right. So she always share in, I think, one of the videos how students will learn more about coding than she did entering Cornell as a first year student, engineering student. So again, that representation is important to see and I think it definitely will help those in our community and beyond. So it's for any student, wherever they may be from. They want to see people who've done it, who've had challenges but have overcome them and are now pursuing what is it that they desire to do? And that could be again in any field. Obviously we lean more towards them because that's our path, but again, we understand that not all students are going to go down that path. It's more about building that confidence, the ability to learn, innovate and problem solve and apply that to whatever path they choose to pursue.

Speaker 1:

Thank you so much for sharing that, dr Salsa. I have a question on innovating STEM education with Lingo. Maybe you've touched upon this already. This is in regards to lingo's approach to STEM education. Can you explain how lingo coding kids this question is more for parents coding kids on instructional material engage students in a hands-on real-world learning hands-on, real-world learning. Some parents can be cynical. They'll say another kid, another gadget, right? So how does lingo help, especially in regards to engagement? Many parents will say what I really want is something that will engage my kid.

Speaker 2:

So if you want to touch upon that please, yes, so the engagement is on a couple levels. So one it's hands-on it's not just sitting at a computer coding even just aspects of entering code, but you don't need to know how to code to actually use LingQ from the very beginning. Two, the projects are connected to real-life applications, so students' own lived experience. So you think of the backup sensor. One of our flagship projects is in the driver's seat is where you co-build a backup sensor for a car. So everybody knows when you get in the car, every car now has this backup sensor, right. And when you get close to an object it beeps more frequently, right. But students don't understand how that's built. How does that work? They get a chance to build that from scratch. They code and build that prototype that most students like music. We're going to show you how you can use technology photo resistors and sensors and other types of sensors and resistors I think of that nature, arduino or microcontroller to build a musical system and then you can play with the way of your hand, by controlling the amount of light or so, along with other components that allow you to then make your own music. So do the like music security system. We all know a lot of cars, people, homes have security systems. Where are you going to build one? And so, again, we're connecting the experiences that students are living every day to technology that they now can build, and I have some basic understanding of how these systems are built at a basic level, not as complex. Obviously that's not the point, but it's giving them a peek into what's under the hood, so to speak, and how these things are built in a lab. Like engineers do, they build prototypes. They get a chance to build these prototype projects that are connected to real-life applications. So those are the two examples.

Speaker 2:

There's reaction time, where you get a chance to test your reaction time. That's something that students think about intuitively because they play sports or whatever they may do. Reaction time is key in any sport you play, and it can help you score a touchdown because of the reaction time. For me, I play tennis, I play basketball as well, but whatever it may be that you play as a sport, reaction time is key. Nascar is key, right?

Speaker 2:

We did a project with Bubba Wallace and Michael Jordan's 2311 racing team, and one of the things that's part of that lesson is around reaction time, because if you're in a car going 200 plus miles an hour, your reaction time is key, because things can happen literally in fractions of a second right, and so your ability to react to what's happening around you is critically important.

Speaker 2:

The same thing happens when you're actually in the cockpit right, and so your ability to react to what's happening around you is critically important. Same thing happens when you're actually in the cockpit right or you're in pit row, when you get things changed. Again. There are real-life applications that we tie our content to in order to bring it to life for students who otherwise may not be interested or maybe intimidated initially, because they don't know how to code or I don't know anything about electronics, I don't know. We got you because we break it down to the most fundamental level and you can do it at your own pace with the instructional videos, the booklets and additional support we provide to ensure that students have a well-rounded experience in the classroom as well.

Speaker 1:

Excellent, and this is for high school students.

Speaker 2:

Middle school, 13 and up. So our sweet spot is middle to high school, but we've worked with organizations that serve community college students, even first year college students, who are initially getting introduced to the connection between hardware and integration of hardware and software. But our sweet spot is middle and high school, and I wish I had something like this when I was growing up, which I didn't have, which is why we created the way we created it, because we wanted to provide something that we didn't have growing up and could have benefited from, and we have that in mind as part of why we built it, the way we built it and who is behind it and why we did it in the way it's been done and we're continuing to improve it the experience for the teachers as well as for the students who use our product. And I can share a bit more about my story as well.

Speaker 1:

Actually, I'm going to ask you about your story next, because your story is inspiring. I was just thinking when you said you wish you had this when you were younger. I wish I had this when I was taking electrical engineering class. Probably I would have passed it with an A, but anyway, I'm out in my cell. But I'm glad that you created this nice kit for students to inspire students. Your story is remarkable talking about high school. Your story is remarkable talking about high school. So you went from 1.8 GPA to being a PhD. Not only did you get a degree in nuclear science, but also in engineering. That is inspiring and that is remarkable. Do you want to share a little bit?

Speaker 2:

Yes, I'm a first-generation college student. My parents didn't go to college but they stressed education, my dad, my mom and I blessed to have both my mom and dad in my life as I was growing up and always a fairly good student. But, like many people, I had a rough patch in high school. My sophomore year I had a 1.8 GPA for semesters and it was more of attitude and work ethic and applying myself. The potential was there and I'm thankful for my parents, thankful for the teachers and my coach who believed in me and encouraged me, knew that I had and yeah, and I got back on track, thankfully, and went on to get my undergrad degree in physics with a minor in mathematics from Southern University. Very proud graduate of Southern University, go Jacks in Baton Rouge, louisiana, at Charlotte Black College and University and then from there went on to Cornell where I did my master's and my PhD in nuclear science and engineering, and went on to Silicon Valley, worked several years in industry, had my own educational ed tech, my own tutoring ed tech tutoring company called XL Educational Services, because I wanted to have that when I was growing up someone also can tutor me if I needed help and so being able to be that real life example to students in their community was important to me while I was working full-time as an engineer and transitioned to a nonprofit, became executive, went there as a guest speaker and left eight years later as the chief education officer and president and in transition to STEM board, where I actually bowed as a founder as a defense contracting company that had an educational arm that she wanted to build out. That's how I came on to the company to join STEM board at the time and fast forward out of STEM Board, which is still a successful company in a defense contracting space, we birthed Lingo and now E-Lingo is a separate ed tech startup that we are aiming to grow to a company that impacts students globally.

Speaker 2:

So that's the short story. I know there's a lot in there to unpack, but I know we're short on time. But yeah, that's my story, that's part of my story and I do speaking engagements and things of that nature. I also have a book notebook I'm not calling it a book, but a notebook called we Are STEM and basically inspiring quotes from me and men in my network sharing what they would have told themselves when they were in middle and high school to inspire, and so I'm working on a female version of this as well, for girls who could also be inspired to reach for their dream. But it's a notebook you can use in school to take notes, write down your vision, write down your dreams.

Speaker 2:

That's something I did not until I got to college. I didn't do anything like that until I got to college. I wrote something down my senior year of what I wanted to accomplish, and so now I say, why not provide them with a notebook? And the front of it actually is really about showing that we can dominate from the athletic field to the boardroom. And that's me in the middle with a basketball in one hand, because I aspired to be an NBA player at one point in my life when I was growing up, or a football player. I got an engineering book in the other. And so that's me in the middle representing some university blue and gold. But, yeah, it's my way of paying it forward through my speaking engagements and working at Lingo, obviously in the role that I play. So, yes, I'm excited about the path forward to the future and how we will continue to change lives for the better, with partners and others in the community doing great work, like yourself and others.

Speaker 1:

Excellent. I was actually trying to load the front cover, I believe. Can you see it? Yes, on my screen, man, I love it. I love it. We are STEM Wow. Why didn't I, man, man, I wish I came up with this name first. This is a really catchy phrase. We are STEM Wow. So right here in the middle, that's you.

Speaker 2:

Yes, it's me without the glasses.

Speaker 1:

And, of course, these's me without the glasses, and and, of course, these two gentlemen on the side.

Speaker 2:

That's my brother, that's supposed to be my brother. My brother doesn't really look like that, but my brother, Kevin, he's a state trooper but also an entrepreneur with his own real estate company and lawn care business. And then the gentleman the other person is a rendition of my wife's oncology. My wife had cancer breast cancer and we had never had a latino doctor of any type, and so she he was. Dr vargas was my wife's oncologist, and so we wanted to represent him in that way. He doesn't look like that, obviously, but it was a representation of. We dominate in all aspects entrepreneurs, sports medicine across the board and I wanted that to be represented by this. We are STEM.

Speaker 1:

I'm glad that you did this, because our young people need to see people of their kind doing great things. You can do both and you can do both. So I had a preliminary conversation with you before this podcast and in that I love what you had to share in regards to what our young people don't really see when it comes to. A lot of them are interested in sports, but there are a lot of STEM-oriented occupations that they can also do when it comes to sports. If you don't mind, let me share that video for everyone to see as we're trying to wrap this up. I love that video. I hope it will come to be loud and clear.

Speaker 2:

The inspiration, of course, from men of color from various worlds.

Speaker 1:

Can you see it?

Speaker 2:

Yes, awesome, I'm going to blow it up a little bit. Life reflects the inspiration of quotes from men of color from various walks of life, reflects our ability to dominate from the athletic field to the boardroom and all spaces in between. That's why you see the cover the way it looks. The person in the middle is me, without my glasses, without what I want to be about. Vocal labor was in my hand. It's a basketball in one hand and you really can't tell, but that's an engineering book in the other, and so it's part of showing a lot of time.

Speaker 2:

We are so imbalanced that all sports and academics is not even second fiddle. It's like a hip fiddle compared to everything else, and so the idea is to strike that balance of we can do both. You'd rather make a decision between excelling in athletics instead of an academic. You can excel in both, but the likelihood of getting to another level in terms of career-wise is going to be the academics, the numbers of us going into pro doing anything like LeBron or Stephens or any of these players that might have expired at the Patrick Mahomes, you name it. It's less than 0.0% in a number of jobs at that level. In that, as a professional athlete on the field Are you talking about, and so you can still work in that industry.

Speaker 2:

But why not be an owner of a team? Why not be a creator of the technology that they use, the data analytics and all of those so many other fields and opportunity in wherever your interest may be in sports, be it whatever that we oftentimes are not aware of because we're not navigating in no space. We don't know that there's a lot of engineering in every sport the technology that students use, the shoes, the equipment, all that data that informs strategy for coaches, the equipment, all that data that informs strategy for coaches, all that data, all that devices, somebody that's building that, someone that's designing that, someone that's coding the software, and either all someone that's designing the logo. There's a whole host of opportunities on the business side and the tech side, but all we oftentimes are exposed to is who's on the field? Wow.

Speaker 1:

Profound. So, as we're winding down, dr Salsa, who will you say are the most critical people helping, helping you to turn things around from 1.8 GPA to?

Speaker 2:

becoming a now a co -founder and also a COO of.

Speaker 2:

Lingo Eds I would say there's many. One, I would say my parents. Two, all the teachers who believed in me and have supported me. Three, I brought a family who were there for me, and friends. And then, fourth, but definitely, certainly not least, is my faith in Christ being a believer, someone who believes in God and believes that for me, jesus is my Lord and Savior. And I got that from my father, who I saw life transform and change, and I wanted that. And so that all those played an instrumental role, I had to do the work, and it ain't because I have my faith. That's great, but faith without works is dead. So I still had to put in the work. Even now.

Speaker 2:

Nothing comes easy. My dad always told me that that faith doesn't make things easy, it makes them possible, and I've never forgotten that throughout my, from when I had a one point to now Right, when I felt like giving up as a graduate student, when I feel like this is not, I can't, I don't know how I'm going to finish this degree. My first semester at Cornell, this is. The grades were bad, it was just bad all around coming from HBCU going to Ithaca, upstate, new York, cold. But I look back on that experience my dad sharing that with me at the time.

Speaker 2:

Like faith doesn't make things easy. It makes them possible, and you can't do it by yourself. You need community support. So I'm big on support partners and working with others to accomplish whatever the goal may be that you may have, and so those are the individuals that played an instrumental role in my ability to turn things around.

Speaker 2:

So I'm standing on the shoulders of many that came before me. The fact that I could turn it around, the fact I had the opportunity to even do that, was people who paid the ultimate sacrifice for us to even be able to do what we're doing now, having this podcast. We oftentimes forget those who paved the way that some university or Cornell could even be an option not that I was able to go, but just an option right, and so I'm very aware of the success that I've had thus far has been because of so many people who have paved the way before me, and I just want to do my part in paying it forward and making a difference in the lives of others that they may realize what their dream and their full potential and this is just one way through lingo, through my we Are STEM notebook, through my speaking engagement is the way I'm paying it forward and working with partners who are aligned on mission and vision to do the same thing through their respective pathways.

Speaker 1:

Excellent. So if you were to give an advice to a student who is struggling or who doesn't see a value on STEM, because some students actually feel that way- yeah, of course. So what will it be?

Speaker 2:

I think it starts with a mindset. For me it was applying the same work ethic and attitude toward my athletics that I apply that to my academics, because the potential is there. It's not about the potential. It was there in me and that 1.8 was a PhD in nuclear science and engineering. Did I know that at the time? Were I even thinking about that at the time? No, but the potential was there and I'm glad others saw the potential. They mean to accomplish what I was able to accomplish. Not that I've arrived by any stretch. I don't think I'll, whatever that means. But I think students have to find their net, their niche, and it takes time. You typically excel in the area where you are innately gifted and talented in and you need to find the right avenue to cultivate that and I think that's what he gets on a path of stem if that's what they want to do.

Speaker 2:

I had a natural knack for math. It's just something I gravitated for even as an elementary student. In fourth grade where I learned multiplication tables started with a snickers bar for me, being the first through my class with our multiplication tables and getting that. I said snickers bar with the chocolate candy, whatever. They might be pretty good at this math stuff. Even at that age, right fourth grade, when I knew I was going to be on it. They had no idea what that meant, where I I would go. But I just remember that moment as to the initial spark, and then from there just reading about other innovators and entrepreneurs and engineers in Ebony Magazine, because there was none in my community that I knew. They were there, I just didn't know them. So my information came from Ebony and Jet, when I can read in there about these individuals who were doing great things, and so I have it on my wall stimulators and innovators for me, and I was always looked at that too as a way to to encourage myself when I felt down and felt like giving up.

Speaker 1:

Yeah, nice, nice. What about parents, teachers and community? How can they support our students? Maybe that may have similar experience like you did when you were coming.

Speaker 2:

I think part of it is building a relationship with the students when that's possible, I think, cultivating in the value of. Teachers know this, I know they know this. Parents know this as well, because it's their child, all right, and it's finding what their niche is and connecting their interests to whatever the subject matter may be. They may not like reading, but they may like reading about X, whatever X may be. They may not like writing, but they will love to write about whatever that interest may be.

Speaker 2:

These days, with AI and over, that being something that becomes part of the experience, learning experience in a more integrated way will allow that type of customization and personalization that I say to happen for students to learn and explore. But I think making learning fun, making connections to, where applicable, to real life applications, to their own lived experience, you know, and things they enjoy doing, making those connections I think a lot of that work is happening. It's just not happening at scale in many instances, but I think those are things that parents can do in providing when they can access to experiences that may put them on the path of being an engineer or being a digital marketing expert or like expert or whatever they did, whatever that thing may be a graphics person or working in gaming not just playing the games, but designing the games, owning the company that designed the games right, getting them exposed to entrepreneurs in different areas. So all of that exposure and awareness, with what parents and teachers can do as part of integrating in the home and in the classroom as part of the learning experience.

Speaker 1:

Excellent and if people are interested in getting your notebook or lingo. Getting lingo, the kit yes.

Speaker 2:

Two ways One to go to STEMlingo, wwwstemlingocom, and then for the book. Book is on Amazon. Just go ahead and do a search on we Are STEM Literally put my name in, dr Jarvis Sulser, and you can pull up our information. And if you want to get in contact with me, there's a number on our website that gives you access. I'm also on LinkedIn. You can search me on LinkedIn as well. Those are the ways you can get plugged in with me.

Speaker 1:

Thank you so much, Dr Soloski. You're welcome. I really appreciate you. Is there any last thing that you want to say that we didn't cover? I have a lot of questions.

Speaker 2:

We can do a part two if you like. I don't have to transition to this next.

Speaker 1:

I know you have another meeting that you have to. You're very busy. Yeah, I know you have another meeting that you have to.

Speaker 2:

You're very busy and thank you so much for that time. One thing I would say is the students and the parents never give up. Press through, get the support you need, be it mental health support, be it emotional, whatever the support you may need. Tap into your community. It takes a village. I am where I am because it took a village. It wasn't just me, it was the village. And your village is different for everybody. Mine was my parents, my teachers, my coach, my family and the Lord. So that was my village. So never, ever, give up. Keep pressing. You're going to have setbacks, that's part of life. You will have trials, that's part of life. But press through them, get the help you need to press through them, and so that's my word Never, ever, give up.

Speaker 1:

Keep pressing. Thank you so much, Dr Salsa. I truly appreciate you for coming on STEAM Spark Think STEAM Career Podcast today. Thank you so much for giving us a precious time to do this with us. I would like to encourage everyone please, while you're getting Dr Salsa's notebook and also getting lingo kits, please do not forget to subscribe to this station If you like. Whatever I'm doing, please try to support me as much as you can. Of STEM Spark, I think STEM Career Podcast is to talk to champions like Dr Salsa in our community, bringing about STEM awareness to our young people. Please stay connected with us and thank you once more again. Everyone, have a wonderful night. Thank you, Dr Salsa.

Speaker 2:

Thank you.

Speaker 1:

Yes, sir.

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Dr. Ayo Olufade, Ph.D

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