Calvin Mackie鈥檚聽youngest聽son was in the聽third grade when he聽came home and聽suddenly聽announced that he wasn鈥檛 interested in science聽anymore.
That didn鈥檛 sit well with Mackie, a聽former聽mechanical engineering聽professor,聽or his wife,聽who鈥檚聽a pharmacist. So聽he聽knew he had to do something.听It wasn鈥檛 long before he鈥檇 converted his garage into a temporary聽lab聽and had聽begun聽the kind of聽hands-on聽experiments聽on聽the weekends聽that would聽better engage聽his son.听
His son, who is now a freshman at Howard University, was getting all聽As聽at one of Louisiana鈥檚 top magnet schools the following year when his friends began inquiring about how he鈥檇 come to know so much about science.听
鈥淩ight then and there, he realized he鈥檇 been exposed to somebody and things that his friends were not,鈥 said Mackie, the founder of the nonprofit STEM NOLA. 鈥淗e really believed that if his friends had [this same exposure], they would be just as bright as him.鈥澛
It wasn鈥檛 long before a聽group聽of his son鈥檚 friends began showing up to Mackie鈥檚 garage on Saturdays as well.听
It was聽then聽that Mackie had聽an聽epiphany of sorts, realizing that he had something to聽offer the larger New Orleans community.听
鈥淚f [my son鈥檚] friends were not being exposed, then think of the rest of the kids,鈥 Mackie said.听
Putting up $100,000 of their own money, Mackie and his wife, Tracy, founded STEM NOLA in 2013 in the hopes of making a positive difference for the larger New Orleans community in which they lived and help meet the demands of the 21st century.听
A nonprofit organization with a mission to expose, inspire and engage the communities in STEM opportunities, STEM NOLA provides participants an interactive, hands-on learning experience that allows students and future innovators and entrepreneurs of all ages to gain added confidence in their abilities and chart a potential course for a career in a STEM field.听
Students enrolled in STEM NOLA learn about 3D printing, coding, technology, engineering, robotics, animation, app development, gaming and much more.听
His passion for STEM and inclusion is why Mackie will meet with students, faculty and staff at multiple events on Wednesday, Oct. 20, as part of the聽聽events for Mason President聽.听
He said it was important to him to be at Mason to celebrate as Washington, his good friend of 30 years, realized a lifelong dream. The two men first met in Atlanta back in 1991, when Mackie was president of Georgia Tech鈥檚 Black Graduate Student聽Association聽and trying to recruit Washington to come there for his PhD program.听
They immediately hit it off thanks in large part to a shared love of STEM, and the two men have since worked together on聽a number of聽occasions with the aim of increasing STEM numbers among underserved communities.听
鈥淗is dream was to be a college president, impact lives and set the direction of an institution,鈥 Mackie said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important for us to acknowledge and celebrate when goals are met and made.鈥澛
Since 2014, STEM NOLA has served more than 80,000 students across 47 states and five different countries, most of whom have hailed from underserved or low-income communities. Nearly half of the participants are female, with more than 80% eligible for free or reduced-priced school lunches.听
鈥淚t鈥檚 making a lasting impression,鈥 Mackie said. 鈥淥ur commitment is to give all children that which my聽wife and聽I and others have given to their kids. We鈥檝e established a level of execution and operation that I don鈥檛 want to聽see聽change聽because everybody deserves it.鈥澛
Mackie聽has made the most of all the tools available to him聽to share his聽message,聽including his young brother, Anthony Mackie, the popular Marvel actor who recently became the first black Captain America.听
Calvin聽Mackie聽said he hopes to eventually create a credit-to-career pipeline that allows for ample access to STEM for all students, no matter their family鈥檚 socioeconomic status.听
鈥淢y ultimate goal is to have a million kids doing STEM聽on Saturday,聽every Saturday,鈥 he said.听