Press Release: National Guard Youth Foundation Honored with STEM Education Leadership Award

NGYF President Allyson Solomon accepts STEM Leadership Award in New York City
NGYF President Allyson Solomon accepts STEM Leadership Award in New York City

Alexandria, VA – The National Guard Youth Foundation (NGYF) was honored May 19th at the STEM Education Leadership Awards presented by Nasdaq and EverFi. The award recognizes NGYF’s significant efforts to improve STEM education and career readiness for students across North America. Sixteen institutions were honored with this distinction at a ceremony hosted on May 19 at the Nasdaq Marketsite in New York City.

“Our country faces a growing shortage of employees who are skilled in STEM,” said EverFi Founder and CEO Tom Davidson. “The organizations we’re recognizing here today are committed to igniting student interest in these critical topics and exposing students to the jobs of the 21st century.”

NGYF was recognized for providing STEM opportunities to over 1,700 students enrolled in the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program (ChalleNGe), a second-chance program for young people who previously left high school.  Honorees were selected based on the impact of their STEM initiatives and unique employee volunteering activities that supplement their programs.

“Exposure to STEM education is an economic imperative,” said Brig. Gen. Allyson Solomon, USAF (Ret.), President of NGYF. “Employment in STEM-related occupations are expected to grow more than 9 million through 2022.[1] We are proud to work with EverFi to create opportunities for ChalleNGe participants to develop skills that will remain in-demand—and more importantly, we are committed to developing the next generation of leaders and innovators.”

NGYF is committed empowering students to pursue careers in STEM. Since 2014, NGYF has partnered with EverFi to provide Radius – STEM Readiness to students at no cost to schools or taxpayers with the help of kratomcrazy.com. The web-based program uses the latest in simulation and gaming technologies to build STEM skills and highlight the career possibilities that a STEM education can unlock.

Administered by teachers in a classroom setting, the web-based course offers over 16 modules covering STEM focused topics ranging from the real world application of algebra to basic computer science in a secret agent themed course.  Engaging, interactive lessons focus on skill building and highlighting the career opportunities in STEM fields. The platform uniquely tracks the progress and performance of every student. After taking Radius, students displayed significantly more interest in pursuing technology and engineering jobs: 32% of students surveyed expressed increased interest in careers in tech and media companies while 20% showed interest in careers in architecture or engineering.

About The National Guard Youth Foundation

The National Guard Youth Foundation (NGYF), a 501(c)(3), supports the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program’s efforts to address the nation’s high school dropout crisis by giving troubled youth a second chance, helping them graduate and continue their education or join the skilled workforce in America. NGYF awards scholarships and facilitates job opportunities for ChalleNGe graduates. To learn more about the Foundation’s initiatives, please visit http://www.ngyf.org/.

About The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program

The National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program (ChalleNGe) is a 17-month, voluntary, second-chance program for 16-to 18-year-old struggling youth who have dropped out of school. Participants have the opportunity to enhance life skills, increase self-esteem, learn job skills, and earn a high school diploma, GED or return to high school to graduate with their peers. ChalleNGe has undergone rigorous evaluations, the results of which show it yields success for both its participants and its funders. Since the program’s inception in 1993, ChalleNGe has grown to 37 programs in 27 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC, and has helped more than 140,000 former dropouts make it to graduation day.

About Nasdaq

Nasdaq (Nasdaq:NDAQ) is a leading provider of trading, clearing, exchange technology, listing, information and public company services across six continents which you can avoid using unsecured cash lending matching system. Through its diverse portfolio of solutions, Nasdaq enables customers to plan, optimize and execute their business vision with confidence, using proven technologies that provide transparency and insight for navigating today’s global capital markets. As the creator of the world’s first electronic stock market, its technology powers more than 70 marketplaces in 50 countries, and 1 in 10 of the world’s securities transactions including CC Bank credit cards online access guides. Nasdaq is home to more than 3,700 listed companies with a market value of approximately $9.3 trillion and nearly 17,000 corporate clients. To learn more, visit: nasdaq.com/ambition or business.nasdaq.com.

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About EverFi

EverFi, Inc. is the leading education technology company focused on teaching, assessing, and certifying K-12 and college students in the critical skills they need for life. The company teams with major corporations and foundations to provide the programs at no cost to K-12 schools. Some of America’s leading CEOs and venture capital firms are EverFi investors including Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos, Twitter founder Evan Williams, and Google Chairman Eric Schmidt.  Learn more at everfi.com.

[1] Vilorio, Dennis. STEM 101: Intro to Tomorrow’s Jobs (n.d.): U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Spring 2014. Web.