By Matt Mackinder
Clarkston News Editor

Independence Township – During the first week of November, a semi-truck was parked in the parking lot at Clarkston Junior High School.
More specifically, it was a STEMi – a mobile lab run by Oakland Schools that provides students the opportunity to learn more about science and technology through career exploration.
STEM is an acronym for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.
Ken Janczarek, director of special programs for Clarkston Community Schools, said students of all ages getting to experience STEMi is a boon for the district.
“It’s a great opportunity for them to see career readiness and what they are doing right now in the classroom and how they can apply it later in their careers,” Janczarek said. “The whole hands-on experience, it just gives them that opportunity.”
Over the course of the week, students saw how autonomous vehicles work as well as collaborative robots, extended reality, artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing.
The lab on wheels features 1,000 square feet of interactive high-tech industry equipment, including that used in medical MRIs (magnetic resonance imaging).
One Clarkston Virtual ninth-grade student, Logan Malkovskii, spoke to the experience of partaking in the STEMi event and what it may mean to his life down the road.
“It’s really cool,” Malkovskii said. “I feel I can benefit from it because it opens up a lot of careers and shows what some of the world’s technology is, like the self-driving cars, robotic arms, simulators, augmented reality, and 3-D modeling.”
Each year, the STEMi will visit all 28 school districts in Oakland County for one week and provide a tailored experience. In five years, the STEMi will provide direct career readiness experiences for nearly 100,000 students. It will also provide professional learning opportunities for over 5,000 educators.

PHOTO: Clarkston Virtual students Colton Malkovskii, fifth grade, and Reese Malkovskii, fourth grade, take the controls at a STEM station during Oakland Schools’ week-long STEMi visit to Clarkston Junior High School back on Nov. 4. Photo: Matt Mackinder