All Aboard! A GOOD Breakfast to Support STEAM Train

There’s a new forum in town: a GOOD Breakfast, where neighbors gather together to connect, engage and learn about initiatives that make a difference to our community. The forum was conceived by Jen Alexander and Debra Hopkins, long-time Middletown residents and champions.

Last Thursday morning marked the inaugural GOOD Breakfast. Nearly 60 people convened on the rooftop gardens of the Community Health Center to learn more about STEAM Train--a non-profit aimed at connecting women and underserved communities to careers in the Science-Technology-Engineering-Math (STEM) fields.

Rani Arbo, Jen Curran and Barbara Hammonds (photo by Erin Dopfel)

Lorenzo Marshall and Mark Masselli (photo by Erin Dopfel)

Mike Rohde and Donna Hylton (photo by Erin Dopfel)

STEAM Train was founded in 2017 by Donna Hylton, a professor of computer technology at MxCC. Professor Hylton knows the disconnect between the skills needed by local employers and the qualifications of unemployed--and underemployed--people in Middletown. Over the past 15 months, the organization has begun to bridge this disconnect by offering programs for kids, teens and adults--all FREE of charge. As a result, STEAM Train is strengthening a pipeline for the STEM workforce while simultaneously empowering those who might not otherwise have the opportunity to reach these positions.

“I really feel that the STEAM Train has barely scratched the surface. There’s a lot of work to do, but we can’t do it alone. The underground railroad wasn’t successful alone. It was successful because people had a like mind. There were like-minded people who said ‘We’ll come behind you, we will help you to bring people out of their plight.’”

If you are interested in learning more about STEAM Train, donating and/or providing apprenticeship opportunities for its students, visit www.SteamTrainInc.org.

And keep an eye out for the next GOOD thing coming your way, soon. 

Jen Alexander, Donna Hylton and Debra Hopkins (photo by Erin Dopfel)