Today’s Dreams are Tomorrow’s Realities” was the slogan instilled into 29 Cleveland Job Corps students when they attended Congresswoman Marcia L. Fudge’s NEOSTREAM (Northeast Ohio Science Technology Recreation Engineering Arts Mathematics) Conference at Cleveland State University on Saturday, October 27th.   Students had the opportunity to meet the Congresswoman and participate in interactive activities with NASA, the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, The Cleveland Orchestra, and the Cleveland Public Library. Several more organizations were in attendance as well, and they provided exhibits, workshops, and mobile units.

One highlight happened during the Welcome and Greetings presentation when Keynote Speaker, Captain Barrington Irving shared his experiences as being the youngest person in history and the first African-American pilot to fly a single-engine plane around the globe 10 years ago. Cpt. Irving is the founder of the nonprofit group called Experience Aviation, which introduces middle and high school students to aviation and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Silence fell upon dozens in the audience when Cpt. Irving shared that Trayvon Martin was one of his former students. Martin was a 17-year-old African-American male who was fatally shot in 2012, in a case of racial profiling. His murder made national and world headlines.

In addition to the many activities available at the NEOSTREAM Conference was employment information, in which top-name companies and hospitals such as Amazon, Cleveland Clinic, FirstEnergy, University Hospitals were there to share resources about job opportunities. Cleveland Job Corps students were actively engaged in the workshops and activities on Saturday. Several students said they were pleased with their decision to attend the NEOSTREAM Conference.