Our Stories & Events

Everyone in the STEAM Lab at Meade County’s College & Career Center a few weeks ago saw the world of science and math come alive with interactive chemical reactions that brought bright smiles to the faces of every student in the room. It was Monument’s very first full classroom immersion with the Meade County students — and an exciting step in an enhanced partnership with the local school system. 

“Our roots in this community mean a lot to us, and we’re constantly seeking new opportunities to enhance our impact on education for all local students,” Tonya Jeffries, HR Manager at Monument Brandenburg, explained. “We’ve always valued our partnership with the school system, but also saw the immense value in getting into the classrooms and engaging with the students in a more specialized and interactive way. So I met with Dr. Mark Martin, Superintendent and Nicholas Sutherland, Principal of Meade County College & Career Center, and eventually with Kala Robinson, Gifted and Talented Teacher, to learn more about the STEAM lab and get something on the calendar for this year.” 

After putting their heads together, they came up with the perfect first collaboration: a series of hands-on student workshops for Meade County Schools Gifted & Talented Education (GATE). Over the course of three days and three sessions, several Monument employees from engineers to lab managers to chemists played a special role in bringing real life chemistry to the classroom with unique experiments organized by Bradenburg’s Process Engineer Lead, Allie Greenwood, and Quality Engineer, Lauren Hamilton.

“With such a wide range of talented students from elementary to high schoolers, we brainstormed some activities we thought would be equally engaging gifted students all across the board, whether math, science, art, etc.,” Allie shared. “With the help of our engineers, we came up with an Iodine clock experiment and a self-inflating balloon reaction. We also had a simulated fire extinguisher activity to demonstrate important safety aspects of our work.”

To say the activities were a hit would be an understatement. “We are all about ‘hands on, minds on’ instruction,” Kala explained. “So we loved the idea of teaching them and exposing them to things in a way they’ll truly remember. Watching the students’ expressions as the chemicals mixed and the balloon swelled was incredible. Jaws hit the floor! We had one student asking where he could get all the ingredients to replicate it again at home.”

Even if the students didn’t quite nail it on the first try, there was a neat lesson to be learned. “Part of the reaction hinged on the amount of each ingredient, and if you didn’t get it quite right in time, it would react faster,” Lauren added. “We knew that would be the case, so it was a chance for us to spin it as a learning opportunity. We told a student he actually figured out how to speed it up! That’s the beauty of science: even mistakes can turn into new discoveries. And it made an impact because he specifically mentioned that moment in his thank you note.”

One of the most valuable teachings of the day was giving real life applications to the type of lessons the students learn in the classroom on a daily basis. “The Monument team not only explained each of their careers and the education that got them there, but also really showed the students what life is like working in a real lab,” Kala shared. “The activities focused heavily on their actual specialty in chemical reactions — discussing formulas, the chemicals involved, and how they react with one another throughout the process. It wasn’t just another lesson; it was a look into a potential career. They also made sure the students were aware of the correct terminology and followed the scientific method properly, so they could apply it in other areas of their education, which really hit home with so many of them.”

It’s safe to say this event was the first of many more successful educational collaborations aimed at getting students in the community excited about engineering and science.

“The group was phenomenal, asking great questions and impressing us with how much they already knew,” Tonya explained. “We received such great feedback from the Superintendent and teachers, and it was equally as fun for us to see the excitement on the kids’ faces as they learn this is something they can actually do as a career in their own community. This has inspired new avenues in how we support STEAM education within our schools, and the future looks very bright — in more ways than one!”

Shout out to all the Contributing Monument Employees:

• Allie Greenwood – Process Engineer Lead
• Lauren Hamilton – Quality Engineer
• Steven Blackburn – Process Engineer
• Jordan Lindsey – Process Engineer
• Russell Cavanagh – Process Engineer
• Bonnie Heffernan – Quality Manager
• Matt Taylor – QC Lab Manager
• Jarrod Eubank – Polymer Synthesis Chemist
• Tonya Jeffries – HR Manager
• Cade Miller – co-op student & future Monument Process Engineer