Photo By Laren Vance Fleming | The Fort Rucker Military Police support the GEMS program by discussing their careers...... read more read more
The U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory (USAARL) hosted its annual Gains in the Education of Mathematics and Science, or GEMS program, for its fifteenth year this summer. During GEMS, students grow their science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) skills in a fast-paced one-week immersion into hands-on experiments before they receive their recognition certificates during a Facebook Live ceremony.
“GEMS is an Army Educational Outreach Program STEM enrichment program for students,” explained Dr. Lori St. Onge, USAARL research administration manager who oversees USAARL’s STEM education outreach efforts, “GEMS takes place in U.S. Army laboratories and engineering centers to engage students in hands-on STEM experiments related to Army research and to inform students about Army STEM career pathways.”
St. Onge has worked with the program since its inception at USAARL in 2011 with fifty-one student participants. This summer 401 students completed GEMS. Over the past 15 years, a total of 2,104 students have participated in GEMS, many of whom have participated for multiple summers. Students who have completed all eight GEMS modules – Simple Machines, Planetary, Forensics, Neuroscience, Robotics, Biochemistry, Medical, and Agriscience – received the Octahedron Award; five students earned this award in 2025 and thirteen students have completed all eight GEMS modules overall. Students who have completed four GEMS modules received the Brilliant Cullinan Award; thirty-six students earned this award this year and 329 students have completed between four and seven modules since the USAARL GEMS program began.
Since 2011, 353 near-peer mentors and teachers have led GEMS. The near-peer mentors, who are close in age to the students, create a relaxed atmosphere ideal for learning. Teachers strengthen the program with their knowledge of STEM and teaching concepts. Many of the near-peer mentors were past GEMS students themselves. “It is rewarding to be part of the mentors’ professional development and watch them grow during each summer and over the years,” St. Onge exclaimed.
To instruct the 2025 GEMS modules, there were five GEMS teachers, including one observing teacher, and 27 near-peer mentors. Three teachers and 11 mentors have taught GEMS in previous years. “This program doesn’t just teach academic content,” said Dr. Shavonne Burrows, a sixth grade mathematics teacher at Brookwood Elementary, “it helps students discover their potential.”
Inspired by her participation as a student and near-peer mentor in GEMS, Rachael Davis, who is a sophomore pursuing a psychology degree and minoring in education at the Ohio State University, hopes to use her experience to be a better high school teacher upon graduation. “GEMS is genuinely the best thing that has ever happened to me,” explained Davis, “and is something that has changed every aspect of my life for the better.” Davis was the first Fort Rucker GEMS Octahedron Award recipient after completing all eight modules; she has been a near-peer mentor for three years.
Victoria Smith, a twelfth grader at Providence Christian School, also completed all eight modules as a student and served this summer for the first time as a near-peer mentor. She has used her GEMS experience in her school to inspire other students to enjoy STEM related activities by founding a robotics club and tutoring. “GEMS is where I became inspired to pursue a career in STEM,” Smith describes why she is passionate about the program, “and it provided the extended learning I yearned for that was unavailable at my school. GEMS is amazing.”
With no prior GEMS module experience, first year mentor Camryn Stafford, a sophomore majoring in elementary education at Troy University, said, “GEMS has helped me connect with kids, learn new teaching skills, and most importantly, shown me that teaching is my true passion.”
Ms. Alane Williams is USAARL’s STEM education administrator, responsible for STEM outreach, of which GEMS is one part. “Our goal is to pique students’ interests in STEM,” Williams explained, “and to expose them to a wide-variety of STEM-related careers. GEMS gives students the opportunity to explore age-appropriate STEM topics that their schools may not offer.”
The 2025 GEMS began with a two-week training and preparation period for the teachers and near-peer mentors. They learned their module materials, held team-building sessions, and set up their classrooms before their students arrived for the first session. Students began the first of four sessions in early June. The last session concluded in the middle of July. When students began to arrive, they were directed to the area where their module was taught, met their assigned near-peer mentor and the three to five other students assigned per mentor. Then the fun, learning and experiments began. The curriculum was supplemented with various subject matter experts visiting the modules to describe their career fields and applied what the students learned to the real-world careers of these experts.
At the end of the week, the GEMS students were applauded in a recognition ceremony, which was broadcast live on the USAARL Facebook for relatives and friends to tune in. Each student received a certificate of completion, a module-specific spirit stick, and was encouraged to apply to next year’s GEMS program.
Students had various opinions about what they liked best about the GEMS program, from making friends, to engaging with the experts about their jobs, to conducting experiments. “I really love this camp and want to attend each summer,” exclaimed Klowee Lesane, a Wicksburg Elementary fifth grade student. “When I get older,” Lesane continued, “I want to be a GEMS mentor.”
“My favorite part of GEMS is doing experiments I have never tried before,” said Cammi Moates, a rising Dale County High School eleventh grade student. “I attend a small school, so it was cool for me to learn and experience new things.” Moates has completed all eight GEMS modules and plans to join the Army upon graduation.
Her twin sister, Carli Moates, also completed all eight modules and attends the same school in the same grade. “GEMS gives you a good opportunity to form connections for future interest in a STEM career at Fort Rucker.” Carli plans to pursue a career as an aerospace engineer.
“We love hosting this program on our Army laboratory campus,” declared Williams. “When students leave GEMS, they have a better understanding of what takes place at USAARL, and a better understanding of the career opportunities available to them in STEM. Ultimately, we would love to see them pursue one of those careers inside the Department of Defense.”
A good example of this is Ryan Nagy, a computer engineer with CATI Training Systems, a contract company that supports the full-motion Black Hawk flight simulator at USAARL. Nagy completed two GEMS modules, including the first time robotics was taught. He also served as a near-peer mentor for three summers at USAARL when he helped rewrite the robotics curriculum. While attending Auburn University, and after graduation, Nagy was a research internship participant in the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education program, or ORISE, here at USAARL. Nagy eventually began to work for his current employer, still within the USAARL halls.
“My experience in GEMS and ORISE at USAARL directly influenced my career trajectory while attending college,” Nagy explained. “Now I feel blessed to be able to go to work every day where the work I do can have a real tangible impact on Army aviation and aviation as a whole.”
Williams said GEMS staff applications open in November and GEMS student applications open mid-January for GEMS 2026. The 2026 modules will be Planetary GEMS for rising fourth and fifth graders, Neuroscience GEMS for rising sixth and seventh graders, Biochemistry GEMS for rising eighth and ninth graders, and Agriscience GEMS for rising tenth and eleventh graders.
About USAARL
USAARL is a world-class organization of subject matter experts in the fields of operator health and performance in complex systems; the en route care environment; blunt, blast, and accelerative injury and protection; crew survival in rotary-wing aircraft and combat vehicles; and sensory performance, injury, and protection. USAARL engages in innovative research, development, test and evaluation activities to identify research gaps and inform requirements documents that contribute to future vertical lift, medical, aviation, and defense health capabilities. USAARL is a trusted agent for stakeholders, providing evidence-based solutions and operational practices that protect joint force warriors and enhance warfighter performance. USAARL invests in the next generation of scientists and engineers, research technicians, program managers, and administrative professionals by valuing and developing its people, implementing talent management principles, and engaging in educational outreach opportunities.
| Date Taken: | 08.01.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 08.01.2025 14:11 |
| Story ID: | 544542 |
| Location: | ALABAMA, US |
| Web Views: | 30 |
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