A Change Agent
NC State’s Catalyst program opens up STEM to teens with disabilities.
In chemistry, a catalyst is a substance that accelerates a chemical reaction. And the Catalyst program, based at NC State, has been doing much the same for teens with disabilities, speeding up their path into science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, careers by opening doors and providing opportunities.
The program aims to tackle the barriers that keep students with disabilities out of STEM fields, including oversized classes, low expectations and a lack of hands-on opportunities, says Catalyst founder and director Joann Blumenfeld. She witnessed those barriers firsthand as a science and special education teacher in public schools.
“I always tell the kids, the education system has the disability, not the kid. That’s why we need to change the system because the kids are really bright.”
— Joann Blumenfeld, founder and director
“I always tell the kids, the education system has the disability, not the kid,” Blumenfeld says. “That’s why we need to change the system because the kids are really bright.”
The free, award-winning, yearlong program is designed for students who are rising ninth through 12th graders, with disabilities that include sight or vision impairment, muscular dystrophy, dyslexia, autism and ADHD. It features hands-on STEM classes taught by NC State professors and graduate students, paid STEM internships in NC State research labs and elsewhere, field trips, and life-skills classes.
100%
college acceptance rate for Catalyst seniors
1500+
educators, STEM professionals, students and community partners serve annually
98%
major in STEM fields
High unemployment rates among people with disabilities spurred Blumenfeld to create the program a decade ago when she was a high school teacher. About five years ago, she began working full time at NC State where the program is now based. Today, she has plenty to celebrate. Among students who have been through Catalyst and are graduating seniors, 100% boast college acceptances, including to NC State. Some 98% of graduates go on to pursue STEM fields in college and careers, including nursing, molecular biology and engineering.
Catalyst, which is funded through public and private dollars, serves about 60 students a year, but Blumenfeld hopes to expand. She believes the students she works with bring the kind of resilience and ingenuity that STEM fields demand.
“Our kids are so used to innovating every day and having failures. They have a really good growth mindset,” she says. “The STEM workforce needs our kids.”
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