The empowerminds Journal

February 2026

Recently, some of our amazing team at empowerminds helped Walkertown Elementary students with their district science fair projects. Rachit, Issac, and Valerie met one-on-one with eight students to provide mentorship, help improve presentation skills, and refine projects. Half of our mentees completed the fair with awards at the district level, with three earning honorable mentions and one team moving on to regionals. STEM-based competitions allow all students to improve their speaking and presenting skills, develop critical thinking, build enthusiasm for the industry, and, overall, prepare them to become great leaders in the scientific field as well as in everyday life. 

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Learn more about our science fair work at Walkertown Elementary. 

January 2026

Welcome to the Division of Youth Programs' new Community Operations Co-Chairs, Caitlin Calicott and John Anderson! Caitlin and John are both juniors at Mount Tabor High School. Caitlin aspires to go into business and sustainability and John wishes to pursue his interests in the medical field as an orthopedic doctor! As high-achieving students, Caitlin and John are excited to share their insight and help empowerminds with community outreach and affairs. Learn more about our new Community Operations Co-Chairs and the rest of the D.Y.P. Team!

November 2025

We at empowerminds have exciting news to share with you; we've created a new Mentorship Program, open now, for students who want to take the next step in their empowerminds journey. As part of this program, students in middle and high school can connect with undergraduate students to professionals in a variety of career fields to learn about the different career options available to them, tips and resources for academic pathways leading to those careers, and developing necessary soft skills to succeed in their journey. Your dreams are waiting for you, and now is the time to reach them. Learn more on the Mentorship Program page.

November 2025

Welcome to the new Associate Director at the Division of Youth Programs, Isaac Metts! Isaac is a junior at Atkins Academic & Technology High School who aspires to be a cardiologist. As a former recipient of the Winston-Salem Human Relations Award and part-time employee of Panera Bread, he desires to uplift the community with service and hard work, vivaciously aspiring to study cardiology and improve the outcome of heart failure patients. Learn more about Isaac and rest of the D.Y.P. Team!

April 2025

Thank you so much Valerie and Ryan for helping to volunteer at the 2025 NCSciFest program hosted by the Association for Women in Science North Carolina (AWIS-NC) at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine, "The Skin We're In", for students from the Winston-Salem Preparatory Academy on April 25, 2025! The program was excellent, from the engaging presentations by AWIS researchers on skin and regenerative medicine to the DIY Play-Dough skin model and lab tours! We are very grateful to our empowerminds D.Y.P. team members who were able to come and help make a memorable STEM-filled fun experience for Winston-Prep's students, and we look forward to next year!

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