 Lab's for learning is just a fun place to be at. It's never a boring moment. It's fun, it's exciting, and it's also informative and you can actually learn a lot of information during the time that you're here. Lab's for learning is important because it gives students an opportunity to experience science in a hands-on, tangible way. Lab's for learning is a one-to-two week summer residential program serving seven through tenth graders on the North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics campus. Students from six northeast-central North Carolina school districts are exposed to a variety of topics ranging from sustainable agriculture, climate change, water and air quality, and renewable energy. They attend classes, conduct experiments, and go on field trips to museums, universities, and private research labs. The emphasis is on experiencing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics in an innovative, creative, hands-on, and inspiring way. The Birds Welcome Fund specifically targeted lab for learning because it sort of surfaced to the top as one of those programs that will achieve the mission of getting kids engaged in science, getting them excited about science, and actually offering kids high-quality science to help them think about their future. I think one of the unique characteristics of Lab's for learning is that it really opens up their creativity so that when they then go and look at a science problem or a math problem or some type of environmental problem, they can begin to come up with novel approaches and solutions that maybe they would not have come to had it just been, here's the information from a textbook or here's what I'm going to tell you about it and what do you think? The field trips that we went on were very exciting, they were fun, they were really informative. We learned a ton of information about different stuff and the really great things about the field trips because it's tied in with the things we learned in class. So taking the students out in this research, real life research environment and explaining these experiments to them so they can see the people in careers that are solving problems. It gets students thinking outside of the box. Well before Lab's for learning I really didn't know a lot about certain careers, I just heard of them and like through the activities that we do and like going on field trips and have interviews with people actually in the field, it's opened up a lot of doors for me. Presentation and self-expression are emphasized to encourage students to sharpen their ability to communicate. You must follow the world, there's a reason, it's very important, they've been here 450 some years, so make sure that you know. We have found through a number of research studies that the earlier you reach students and provide guidance to them regarding science and science careers, children make better choices about careers in science and what they pursue and actually begin to like science. They're still at the age where they're excited and they can be engaged and be open to new experiences and they haven't quite formed their judgment about the science, technology, engineering, mathematics field yet. So the students that are a part of the Lab's for learning program are identified by the people that are in their communities. They are the traditional nerdy type that is super excited and super eager or it could be the student that they know has the potential but maybe just needs that push or needs that exposure. Our students are bright students, they can do well but they just don't have some of those early experiences that would make a difference for them. The impact that Lab's for learning has had on my school year, my school work is that I actually seem to be getting better over the years, like I've improved in language, arts, math, science, everything, like I'm just at the top of my class and everything. So you actually want to be here because you're learning and you're staying on top of your game. By focusing on minority students that are underrepresented in careers in STEM related fields, Lab's for learning encourages these students along an academic pathway to college and beyond and gives them the foundation and tools required for success. It's a matter of opportunities and exposure so we know it's going to have an impact. We know that these students who are going through the program are going to be much better prepared as high school students and hopefully they will also consider some careers in the area of some STEM area. We've got an economy here in North Carolina that's drastically changing from one of tobacco and textiles to an innovation economy and we have the ability through programs like this to leverage the science that we have to really make great scientists for the future. When I get older, when I actually graduate from high school, I'm going straight to college and I feel that one of those careers could be something that I could follow in. Lab's for learning, if it wasn't for Lab's for learning, I wouldn't know anything about these careers and it really opened my eyes to the different possibilities and the different things that I can be. And it's such an easy program to donate to. The dollars that are being requested are relatively low and their return on investment is huge when you consider changing the life of a child. The experience empowers them to make their dreams a reality, to really go forward and put forth the effort to become whatever it is that they want to become. This is a really great, really, really great experience.