Middle schoolers across Assumption Parish recently participated in the inaugural STEM Challenge Day, which involved hands-on activities in subjects such as robotics, engineering, and aeronautics. Assumption Parish Public School System hosted this event in partnership with BayouSTEM, an educational institute that supports STEM instruction and learning in the state. “The STEM Challenge Day is a day that many of these students will fondly remember as the day they were inspired to pursue an exciting and rewarding career in science, technology, engineering or math,” Superintendent Dr. John Barthelemy says. “Every time we can introduce our students to promising career opportunities, and we can demonstrate how their current classroom studies apply to those opportunities, then we are opening doors and building hope.”