Annapolis, Maryland – USNA Out Chair Brian Bender ’93 attended this year’s Outreach Conference February 26-28. The title of this year’s conference was “Answering the Call: Encouraging STEM Education for the Next Generation.” The conference had a split theme this year: Strategic Outreach review and recruiting future midshipmen and officers with aptitude in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).
Annapolis, Maryland – USNA Out Chair Brian Bender ’93 attended this year’s Outreach Conference February 26-28. The title of this year’s conference was “Answering the Call: Encouraging STEM Education for the Next Generation.” The conference had a split theme this year: Strategic Outreach review and recruiting future midshipmen and officers with aptitude in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM).
The Conference kicked-off with a Welcome Reception at the Alumni House. In attendance were senior members of the Alumni Association and Foundation staff, Dean Latta of Admissions, and a number of distinguished and inspirational minority graduates. During introductions, I seized the opportunity to re-introduce USNA Out and describe our mission (“Provide a path of reconnection for GLBT alumni…”). I was particularly impressed by the strong support USNA Out has among graduates from classes in the ’90s and later. Several distinguished members proactively approached me and commended our group for what we were doing.
Friday evening the Masquerader’s put on a production of “Annie Get Your Gun.” Bravo Zulu to all the mids involved for a fantastic show!
The highlight of Saturday’s Conference was a presented by Mr. Davede Alexander, Director of Strategic Outreach Programs. USNA Admissions, through its strategic focus on reaching under-represented minorities and geographies, has increased admissions to over 15,000 applications – a 50% from the classes in the early ’00s. This is a significantly greater number of applications than at sister academies West Point and Air Force Academy. Specific examples of success highlighted were the New York City area, where USNA has success fully gone from 0 applications and outright resistance to a uniformed military presence on campus to over 30 from the selective, science-oriented public schools in the city. While USNA is prohibited from targeting prospective GLBT students by the DADT law, I am hopeful that the thoughtful approach generated by Mr. Davede’s office can be applied for GLBT students and drive similar, outstanding results.
I briefly introduced myself to CAPT Tony Barnes, Chief Diversity Officer at the Naval Academy. He proactively said the “environment” is changing quickly and he is eager to closely collaborate with USNA Out when DADT is repealed.
This weekend showed a few glimmers of hope and fruits of early outreach by USNA Out to the Alumni Association and attendance at previous Outreach Events. That Alumni Association wants us to show up and invited us to return. That said, we have a long way to go and a lot of work ahead of us. I encourage USNA Out members to come out in force whenever they can at events such as this and other Alumni Association events.
Go Navy!
-Brian