MILWAUKEE, WI- The Milwaukee Rowing Club’s STEM to Stern program is so much more than just learning how to competitively row as a team.
The club has created an equal playing field for all students from diverse backgrounds and has eliminated barriers that youth can face when participating in the expensive experience.
Milwaukee Rowing Club Executive Director Roger Huffman says it was important to represent Milwaukee accurately in a sport that’s predominantly white.
“We wanted our club to reflect the city and the area around it. Looking at our club and looking inward, we had a mostly Caucasian population throughout our rowing club and we wanted to diversify our club to reflect what we have here in the city. We felt that was a really important change to make within our club,” said Huffman.
The program pushes through barriers that students might face, like lack of transportation or funding.
And it’s not all about rowing. It’s about science too. The “STEM” part of the program is a Tuesday class at MSOE.
14-year-old Leah Lawrence is a sophomore at Wisconsin Lutheran High School and went through the program.
“I want to go to school to be an engineer and that was a really good program for me. It gave me the opportunity to do new things,” said Lawrence. “I just love the sport. I love the intensity and the competition.”
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