Erdogan Kaya, Ph.D.

I am active in volunteering with community groups and work to increase educational opportunities for students. During my STEM+CS teaching, I have been fortunate enough to serve as a robotics coach and computer science instructor. I received Tri-State Winning Alliance Award in First Tech Challenge Level. I was also granted a patent for the invention in circular brackets during First Lego League. I was chosen Teacher of the year by National Center for Women in Information Technology (NCWIT), it was a national level recognition. I have received grants from AzTea, Lowe’s and IEEE Foundation to promote STEM education. I have trained students who brought championships from several International Project Olympiads. My professional experience as a STEM teacher has provided me with a broad view that is useful in assisting students with tech projects and assignments. I assist with middle school outreach through the STEM Academy Saturday School that introduces engineering to CCSD elementary students and work at UNLV UPWARD BOUND MATH and SCIENCE CENTER as a STEM+CS instructor to prepare high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds for the college. In the Las Vegas community, I am an avid volunteer in many educational outreach programs including Science Fair and FIRST Robotics programs such as First Lego League, First Tech Challenge and First Robotics Competitions. I also serve as code.org volunteer, visit classrooms in CCSD to inspire kids about the amazing world of coding and increase diversity in tech as a role model. Lastly, I also serve as a Civil Air Patrol member which combines both of my passions, that is aviation and serving the community.

Computer science and engineering skills are in high demand, yet there aren’t enough people graduating in the field to fill all the job openings. Furthermore, there is an urgent need to address diversity problems in STEM+CS. That is why I got involved with Code.org and FIRST Nevada. I really wanted to give back to help the community in the U.S. and my local community. It is very rewarding to see students go from knowing nothing about computer science to understanding very complex concepts. I routinely ask myself: How do I make kids interested in STEM+CS careers and particularly in engineering and computer science? Whenever I get a chance, I volunteer to teach programming and engineering to students. FIRST’s mission is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, which inspire innovation and foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership. FIRST is a non-profit dedicated to expanding access to computer science and engineering, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented minorities. The vision of FIRST is that every student in every school should have the opportunity to learn computer science and engineering, just like biology, chemistry or algebra. It is an organization that is supported by generous donors including Microsoft, Facebook, the Infosys Foundation, Google, Omidyar Network, and many more. They increase diversity in computer science and engineering by reaching students of all backgrounds where they are — at their skill-level, in their schools, and in ways that inspire them to keep learning. As a volunteer for the FIRST program, I believe I play an important role in making this vision a reality. FIRST is a volunteer-driven organization and the success of these type of organizations depends on us. They have so many different volunteer opportunities to offer and each opportunity offers a variety of exciting experiences, I have been volunteering at different levels in these organizations.

Furthermore, I even improved my elementary science teaching methods course by integrating robotics and coding. It nurtures even pre-service teachers who have no experience in programming so they can teach on their own self-sustaining computer science program when they start teaching because I want them to have experience, knowledge, and opportunities in STEM. Finally, the Code.org and FIRST program helps my future—all our futures. The children we are teaching will be our governors, attorneys, engineers, and everyone. They’re leading the frontier of everything that is to come. These are the young people who will be figuring out everything that stops scientists in 2019. We need them to be educated and confident in the tools of the 21st century. That’s what we’re doing with computer science and engineering in FIRST: We are teaching the future Einsteins to tackle the world’s toughest problems.

I believe introducing students to computer science and engineering will allow the UNLV and the Las Vegas community to stay competitive and enable innovation to grow there.  Innovation is born from solving problems including ones we don’t know exist.  By exposing individuals to computer science and engineering, we increase the number of K-12 school students who do not have a chance to experience them. These students would go to college and never realize computer science and engineering is something they would enjoy and have fun with—something that has a lot of jobs that pay well. That’s especially important information for students who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. More and more of the future is defined by computers and engineering. That’s why everyone should be exposed to coding and then decide whether or not they want to continue. But, before all, students first need the inspiration and role models.