Boston Celtics power forwards Grant Williams and Leon Powe were on hand at the Salesian Boys & Girls Club on Byron Street Monday to help celebrate the completion of a new STEM (Science, Technology. Engineering, Math) preteen room at the club.
The new preteen room was recently completed after a few weeks of work last month and made possible by generous donations from the Celtics Community Crew and TD Bank.
The Celtics and TD combined two rooms off the Boys & Girls Club cafeteria and created a comfortable space for preeteens with an emphasis on STEM.
“They painted the whole space and put up all the wall graphics with the Celtics logo,” said Salesian Boys & Girls Club Executive Director Michael Triant. “They paid for all the new furniture like couches, chairs, tables, computer tables, a teacher’s desk in the room as well as six new computers, new video gaming systems with TVs and games and remote controls. They also donated a bunch of STEM equipment so we can continue that sort of programming at the club going forward.”
Triant said the Boys & Girls Club was nominated for the overhaul by TD Bank and got word they were selected by the Celtics rather quickly.
“Our name was put in by TD bank and we got a phone call from the Celtics right away,” said Triant. “It all started last month so we kind of moved quickly with them. We worked closely with the Celtics on what we thought was most appropriate for our kids in the space that we were designing.”
Aside from a facelight of the room the kids will be able to engage in STEM activities like designing their own video games.
“The preeteen years are a really tough age and some kids kind of age out of the programs we have,” said Triant. “We can get them back for open gyms and stuff like that but there is still a drop off when our kids hit 12 or 13. So hopefully this new space and the design and the STEM programming will keep some of these kids involved and keep them wanting to be a part of the Boys & Girls Club as they enter their teen years. Again, it’s a really difficult time for kids, where they can go many different ways and our job is to continue to keep them on the right path in their lives.”
As for Williams and Powe, the two NBA players played video games with kids, signed autographs and answered questions about their upbringing.
Williams, whose mother is a NASA engineer, said the STEM curriculum could have an impact on some of the kids attending the Boys & Girls Club. He said, “Through this new room some of you might take an interest in STEM and maybe one of you might be a NASA engineer like my mom.”
Powe talked about his upbringing and how STEM and places like the Boys & Girls Club can continue to have a positive impact on kids’ lives by preparing them for the future. Powe said he used to be undisciplined and unfocused in his youth but began to turn things around once he realized in order to attain his dream of becoming an NBA player he’d not only have to practice hard but also be a good student.
“I made that decision a long time ago to ask questions when I didn’t understand something, to get extra help when I was confused and to speak up for myself,” said Powe. “I went from being a student that wasn’t doing that well to going to college and then playing in the NBA.”
Powe added that programs like the Boys & Girls Club and the new STEM room will give kids the opportunity to become better students and more prepared for high school, college or the workforce.