Responding to a clear education and employment gap of urban youth in the S.T.E.M. disciplines, the 4th Family co-founders came together to connected youth with the opportunity and motivation to seek further education and potential career in a S.T.E.M. field. The program is led by S.T.E.M. Director John Drazan, who has a Ph.D in biomedical engineering. On site programs in capital region schools are given academic rigor by Drazan, and delivered by Hoke, Scott, and volunteers who know the power of overcoming hardship through S.T.E.M.
The focus of the program is to provide concrete, accessible STEM material through hands on seminars and mentoring programs. In partnership with ESPN, NBA, NBA Cares, Adidas, FIFA, Google, and National Orthopedics Association, 4th Family STEM programs have trained over 100 students who have in turn presented to over 5,000 students around New York State, while sending more than 20 students to college with a focus in STEM.
4th Family’s STEM work has been presented at national and international conferences at the both the national and international levels. The work of the 4th Family STEM program has been presented at technical and educational conferences around the world including, Orlando, Syracuse, San Francisco, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas, and Milan, Italy.