Guest bio: Neil Thompson is an entrepreneur, children’s book author, and patent agent. For years, he worked as a product development engineer in the medical device industry. He started the online platform Teach the Geek to help scientists and engineers with non-technical skills that often get overlooked. His first target? Public speaking. The first offering of the platform, Teach the Geek to Speak, is the online course to help with public speaking.

His children’s book, Ask Uncle Neil: Why is my hair curly? is about his nephew asking him why his hair is the way it is and Neil uses science to answer the question. The goal of the book is to encourage more Black kids to consider careers in STEM.

Show notes: In this episode, Neil talked about his inspiration for his podcast geared toward teaching technically minded people how to be better public speakers and communicators. He even developed courses around this topic.

We also talked about his passion for introducing STEM topics to children. The earlier the better. STEM careers introduce innovation in the world. Unfortunately, very few kids of color are involved in STEM and miss out on being involved in innovative jobs. Neil wants to change that. His first book (Ask Uncle Neil: Why is my hair curly?) is his attempt at changing that.

In the show intro and outro, Claude and I (Linda) talk about what STEM role models and mentors should look like in black communities. What do you think? Drop your comments below.

Purchase Neil Thompson’s book at AskUncleNeil.com. The site has testimonials from other parents. And it’s geared toward elementary school ages and has a STEM message. It would make a great gift.

Also, you can check out the Teach the Geek Podcast on several outlets online. Subscribe and rate on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, and YouTube Follow @teachthegeek and @_teachthegeek on IG

Visit the Teach the Geek website today.

Help spread the word:
If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know in the comments below. Do you have questions? Use the contact form to reach out to us.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast; we release an episode each month.

Show Sponsor:

STEM Dreams podcast is sponsored by Wildlands Engineering, a water resources engineering firm in Charlotte, North Carolina. Wildlands is dedicated to increasing diversity in engineering and environmental sciences like geology and ecology.

Wildlands, thank you for helping us help the next generation of STEM dreamers.

Credits: Show sound effects and music was sourced from FreeSound.org.

Guest Bio:  Juan Fuentes graduated from UNC Charlotte in the Fall of 2014 with a degree in Systems & Industrial Engineering and Mathematics. Upon graduation, he started working for CTL Packaging, USA as a Project Engineer for cosmetic plastic packaging clients like L’Oreal, and Alba Botanica. For a brief period right after graduation, he worked with Dilliard’s Corporation. Juan then transitioned to work for Duke Energy as a Jr. Project Manager for the Coal Ash Basin Closure Projects before finding his way to working at Coca-Cola Consolidated as a Manufacturing & Production Analyst for Bishopville and Nashville Production. His work with Coca-Cola Consolidated has expanded in his role with Product Supply by working with Production Planning, as well as implementing data analytics during extended downtimes, and out-of-source optimization.

Juan enjoys spending time with his wife Kayla and three-year old Cockapoo, Remi. You can find him watching sports, running through the City of Charlotte, cooking, playing music, or traveling, he is a Colombia-born native, raised in Miami, FL and has been living in Charlotte, NC for the last 12 years.

Show notes: I (Linda) met Juan when he was an undergrad engineering student at UNC Charlotte. While working towards his degree, he also worked as an Orientation Counselor or “OC” during university orientation. Orientation is a program offered by a college or university to help new students and their families make a smooth transition from high school to college life.

Juan mentions bringing your genuine self to your STEM field. This can be challenging because of the stigmas attached to being a student studying STEM topics. What do you think this mean to you as a student?

Here’s a link to the Pew Research I shared in the introduction: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/01/09/7-facts-about-the-stem-workforce/

He also talks about what it means to be a systems (or industrial) engineer. Here’s more about this relatively new STEM field of study:

• From NASA
• From YouTube
• From ICOSE, International Council of System Engineering

Help spread the word:
If you enjoyed this episode, please let us know in the comments below. Do you have questions? Use the contact form to reach out to us.

Don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast; we release an episode each month.

Show Sponsor:

STEM Dreams podcast is sponsored by Wildlands Engineering, a water resources engineering firm in Charlotte, North Carolina. Wildlands is dedicated to increasing diversity in engineering and environmental sciences like geology and ecology.

Wildlands, thank you for helping us help the next generation of STEM dreamers.

Credits: Show sound effects and music was sourced from FreeSound.org.