AmeriCorps member Latik McNeik (center), with students at MdBio’s ATLAS College & Career Symposium
If you’ve been on the MXLab this school year, you may have noticed some new faces. For the first time, our organization is excited to receive a grant through the AmeriCorps program. AmeriCorps is a volunteer service program dedicated to improving lives and fostering civic engagement. In return for an education stipend to be used in the education program of their choice, AmeriCorps members commit their time to address critical community needs like increasing academic achievement, mentoring youth, fighting poverty, and more.
Our first two AmeriCorps members, Latik McNeil and Eric Williams, joined the MXLab team in October, bringing a genuine passion for working with youth. Eric and Latik work alongside MdBio’s educators onboard the lab, allowing more personalized interaction with our students and deepening connections by providing STEM mentors from within the students’ community.
The program will roll out over the 2018/19 school year, eventually providing for ten total AmeriCorps members across Maryland. MdBio’s AmeriCorps grant is in partnership with Baltimore-based CivicWorks, a nonprofit organization that strengthens communities through education, skills development, and community service. For more than 20 years, CivicWorks programs deliver tangible results through a combination of job training, skills development and community service.
