Now in its 17th year, Chattanooga State Community College sponsored the annual Merit Badge College for 155 Boy Scouts and 40 Boy Scout leaders from the Cherokee Area Council on March 17. This day-long event provided an opportunity for scouts to earn one of 15 badges focused on STEM-related activities in science, technology, engineering & mathematics.

Scouts had a choice of earning one badge in the areas of Architecture, Drafting, Automotive, Chemistry, Composite Materials, Digital Technology, Electricity, Electronics, Engineering, Medicine, Nuclear Science, Robotics, Welding, Traffic Safety, or Truck Transportation.

Chattanooga State faculty representing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics fields serve as Merit Badge instructors for the day. They included Karen Haynes, Tim Chastain, Ed Grun, Bill Heckathorn, Eliud Mushibe, Ralph Gwaltney, Jimmy Jones, Sandra Lambertino, Jon Morrison, Tracie Clifford, Jackie Smith, Nancy Draper, Terry Newman, Jerry Roberts, Kenny Tumlin, Russell Uselton, Lesley Goggins and Dexter Truss.

Introducing scouts to STEM-related activities provides the boys with learning opportunities during their formative years to help them decide whether a career involving STEM would be a good fit for them. In addition, the program allows both the boys and their leaders to visit and explore all that Chattanooga State has to offer.