“I used to take my toys apart. While I did put the pieces back together…it still freaked my parents out,” she said.

Behind this innocent destruction was destiny. With each doll, truck, and train    Dominque disassembled, she built something else…her engineering skills.

“I’m fascinated by this profession,” she said. “At a young age, I decided I wanted to learn about engineering and nothing was going to stop me.”

In high school, Dominique joined the Arizona Chief Science Officer (CSO) Program. The organization, supported by State Farm, gets students involved in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities, while teaching them about careers in these fields.

“STEM is all around us,” said State Farm Senior IT Architect Ines Halloran. “Our mission is to engage with universities and high schools to build a pipeline of future IT talent.”

So, how does peanut butter and jelly fit in?

During a CSO institute, State Farm volunteers used a childhood favorite – the PB&J, to demonstrate the importance of algorithms.

“It’s a step by step process,” said Dominique. “This was an awesome way to explain programming basics. It made us think about a simple process in a thorough, innovative way.”

Students plotted the steps needed to build the perfect PB&J, then shared their algorithms with volunteers – who played the role of a computer. If the algorithm made sense, then the computer (a.k.a., the volunteers), would be able to create this end result:

Students like Clay Hauser and Calvin Rowell say the peanut butter and jelly challenge proves STEM is rooted in everyday life, no matter who you are or where you work.

“It’s not just for scientists with doctorate degrees or highly trained medical professionals,” said Calvin. “Sometimes the most influential workers are those with technical degrees, teaching degrees, musicians, actors. If you want to make something even better, STEM can help.”

From Peanut Butter to Brain Power

The CSO program spans beyond peanut butter and jelly – from classroom to community success. Its unique learning opportunities  inspired CSO students to start after-school STEM clubs, take part in  science festivals, host innovative workshops, and network with State Farm IT employees.

This work has been recognized throughout the country, including the nation’s capital.

By exposing students to new ways of thinking, the CSO program hopes   to develop a diverse talent pool of future STEM leaders.

“I have worked with hundreds, maybe thousands of IT professionals over my 26 year career, and the differentiator is passion and determination to succeed.” said Halloran.

And as for Dominique? The CSO program has inspired her to pursue her passion of becoming a mechanical engineer.

“Right now, it’s a male dominated field, but this program proves gender doesn’t matter when it comes to success,” she said. “If your heart wants to experiment with science, robots or video games – do it. The CSO program taught me anything is possible when you put your mind to it.”

Just like learning to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich...it’s a   simple lesson, with a satisfying result.

There’s the Emily who loves theater, dancing, and performing the National Anthem at professional sporting events.

Then there’s the Emily who is fascinated by atmospheric physics, like the omega equation that determines buoyancy and lift in the atmosphere.

Some might call that a split personality, but as the first female meteorologist to work at KFOR-4 in Oklahoma City, and WCYB-TV in Bristol Tennessee/Virginia, Sutton prefers to describe herself as someone who just refused to choose.

Fusing fascinations

“As a little girl, I always enjoyed the fine arts. But I was also fascinated with weather and science,” said Sutton. “Tornados, in particular, were both fascinating and terrifying.”

While at the University of Missouri to obtain a journalism degree, Sutton’s life was changed in 2004 when she joined the school’s storm chase team and witnessed her first tornado.

“It was a weak tornado in a farm field in Oklahoma,” she said. “I was thrilled by the experience. One month later our team watched five tornados tear across Kansas. That was it. The next day I added meteorology to my field of study. ”

ATMOS 100: Intro to Meteorology

Meteorology is standing in front of a green screen on TV, pointing at a smiley sun face and scary clouds with lightning coming out of them, right?

Not quite.

Meteorology is the scientific study of the atmosphere. Meteorologists use scientific principles to observe, explain, and forecast our weather. They often focus on atmospheric research or operational weather forecasting. Research meteorologists can cover several sub disciplines of meteorology including: air quality, atmospheric physics, and climate change.

Breaking Barriers

Sutton immediately noticed something unusual about her calculus, physics, and other science classes. There were hardly any women. A worldwide study done by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development found girls generally outperform boys in science – except in the United States. The gap is thought to be due to gender roles being formed and reinforced early in life, and the incentives different countries offer for pursuing math and science degrees.                                         

Photos by Leia Smethurst Photography

In the past, the meteorology field has been a career path dominated by males. As the first female meteorologist in her two previous positions, Sutton learned quickly that she is seen differently than the others on her team.

“From the start of my career, I noticed that some viewers were obsessed with little things like my clothes and the length of my hair,” she said. “I had to focus on lowering the pitch of my voice so I sounded more calm and professional.”

On The Bright Side

These are barriers that many female newswomen and meteorologists face. But Sutton has also found that there are advantages to being a female in her field.

“I love teaching kids about the nerdy science parts of weather and how it impacts us,” Sutton says.

One of Sutton’s best pieces of advice is aimed towards girls who are forced to choose between fine arts and literature or math and science.

“Why can’t we have both?” she says. “Girls need to explore options and try different things. Don’t let anyone tell you that you must choose between one or the other. You may end up excelling in theater and calculus.”

Click here to watch Emily share her experience with a close call tornado.

Emily Sutton and several other female meteorologists shared their experiences and perspectives at the 2016 National Tornado Summit in March. The summit site shared this about Sutton’s session:

“Being a meteorologist and predicting potentially deadly weather isn’t a job for the faint of heart and some would argue it’s even more difficult for those that are female. Get the forecast wrong, and you’re liable to be labeled just a weather girl, but over the decade’s women are increasingly taking on the role of meteorologists and making strides in the fields of science and meteorology.”

State Farm is proud to be a sponsor of the 2016 National Tornado Summit and encourages both girls and boys to follow their dreams.

‘Tis the season to give back. And it’s the first time State Farm® brings professional athletes Aaron Rodgers and Chris Paul together, teaming up for charity.

The Challenge

Working with trick shot experts, @DudePerfect, Rodgers and Paul are challenging each other to bring their best trick shot to benefit a charity of their choice. The #TrickShotChallenge asks us all to do something amazing for our favorite charities during the holidays.

Giving Back

For Rodgers, it’s the work of the Midwest Athletes Childhood Cancer Fund (MACC). The MACC has worked diligently for 39 years to “cure cancer out of existence”.

For Paul, family has always been a priority. To honor his late grandfather, Chris launched a foundation to provide youth with academic and athletic scholarships.

The Charities

The MACC Fund

Former Bucks player Jon McGlocklin formed the MACC Fund in 1976. McGlockin’s good friend and iconic Bucks radio announcer, Eddie Doucette, had a toddler son, Brett, who was battling leukemia. The MACC Fund’s research and support has made an impact on the treatment of children. Thanks in part to the organization’s good work, the five-year cancer survival rate has improved from 20 percent to 80 percent today.

“When Eddie and I started the MACC Fund, we never thought down the road, nearly 40 years, and certainly never dreamed of contributing more than $55 million,” said McGlocklin, the MACC Fund President and Co-Founder. “We just wanted to help kids like Brett have a chance to live.”

[Brett Doucette with his Doctor, Dr. Jim Casper – 2010]

Brett Doucette was one of the organization’s first success stories. He was able to beat leukemia and is now an adult with a young family of his own. And because his family allowed the organization to spotlight the difficult time they were going through, many other families have since been able to help their children become cancer free.

The Chris Paul Family Foundation

The Chris Paul Family Foundation works to support projects in communities throughout Louisiana, California and North Carolina, including:

• Building homes in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity;
• Providing reading eye glasses for young children whose families do not have the financial means to provide them;
• Packaging weekend meals for elementary aged students who qualify for free or reduced meals during the week days;
• And offering free prom dresses to young girls who lack the financial resources to purchase them.

One young boy who is a member of the Boys and Girls Club of Watts, CA, experienced great joy and excitement when he saw the Chris Paul Family Foundation had renovated the Club. The renovation included a technology lab with computers for young students.

[Boys and Girls Club of Watts new computer lab]

Check out Rodgers and Paul’s trick shots here:

Aaron Rodgers | Chris Paul

When a house fire killed a family whose children had attended a fire safety lesson just two months prior, Clarksburg, WV Fire Captain Cindy Murphy decided those lessons weren’t enough.

“It absolutely broke my heart somebody I had talked to about smoke detectors was not able to make it out of their home,” said Murphy, “I didn’t want another child to die in a fire [because they didn’t have one].”

According to the National Fire Protection Association, “three out of five home fires resulted from fires in properties without working smoke alarms.”

Determined to steer clear of any further preventable deaths, Murphy created Operation Not One More. With 850 first graders in the county, she made it her goal to equip these children and their homes with 10-year smoke detectors—to provide “silent guardians” to watch over them.

When the call to action went out, the donations poured in. To date, she has already provided almost 900 smoke detectors—exceeding her goal and saving more lives in the process. Adds Murphy, “I could not have accomplished this by myself.”

Her next step is to create a public service campaign that will ensure proper installation of the detectors. It’s no use “if they are still sitting in a bag at the kid’s house,” says Murphy. She wants to make sure all of the alarms are up and running.

With these detectors, the children will be teens before they have to worry about changing a battery. The tamper-resistant alarm prevents family members from taking out the battery and forgetting to put it back in—a major cause of house fire-related injuries and deaths.

Many impressive personal achievements fill his 80 years. Yet, walking into school and meeting his first grade teacher is memory that still burns bright.

Ms. Mamie Labon Foster, a young first grade teacher, brought hope and inspiration into the life of a boy who had already experienced a lifetime’s worth of hurt and hardship. It was her hug, reassurance, and fervent belief in the power of reading and education that set him on a path of achievement.

Before stepping into Union Baptist School, Shelley had already witnessed the violent murder of his mother by his drunken father. But this is not a story about a childhood tragedy; rather, it is testament to the power of a teacher in the life of a child.

Ms. Foster faced many challenges educating students in the segregated, poverty-stricken Rosedale neighborhood of Birmingham, AL during the early 1940s. Most students entering her class did not have literate parents or access to books in their homes. Her presence in Shelley’s life provided a sense of stability away from the chaos surrounding him.

Her encouragements that first day of school might have been a small part of Ms. Foster’s day, but to six-year-old Shelley, they became a mantra. He began to believe in himself, just as Ms. Foster did. He bounced around Birmingham, living with different family members and changing schools often, but education was always his priority.

Shelley did see his beloved Ms. Foster again…the day of his high school graduation. He did not expect the cheers the others received when their names were called. But to Shelley's delight, Ms. Foster stood up and said, “That’s my boy!” For the second time, she was the one there for him at just the right moment.

Shelley Stewart went on to be a Civil Rights activist, radio personality, advertising executive, community leader, and philanthropist. And thanks to Ms. Foster, he remained a student and avid reader. Always an advocate for education, he now spends his time supporting teachers and students with The Mattie C Stewart Foundation and their innovative dropout prevention programs.

Shelley had many reasons to drop out of school and fall victim to the influences of his neighborhood and family, but he did not. Ms. Foster showed him education was the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, abuse and crime.

The story of Dr. Stewart and Ms. Foster, is not specific to a time and place. In classrooms across the nation, it plays out daily. Teachers continue make dramatic differences for students facing challenges each and every day.

Did you have a Ms. Foster in your life? If so, please join The Mattie C Stewart Foundation and State Farm and #ThankATeacher.

The Mattie C Stewart Foundation is named after Shelley’s late mother. It is dedicated to keeping students in school and reducing the national dropout rate. Dr. Stewart saw too many community members ending up in dire circumstances, including prison. Studies have found approximately 75% of the inmate population is high school dropouts. The Foundation, using school-based programs like The Choice Bus, Inside Out documentary and Learn2Earn has served 2,028,664 students since its founding in 2007.

During the first part of the 25-minute experience, students watch videos and discuss the impact of education. They see how their school choices affect their earning potential over their lifetimes. Then the students see the second half of the bus. It is a full-size replica of a jail cell, providing a brief experience of incarcerated life. The message is powerful and simple: a good education can lead to a lifetime of opportunities. Each student has the ability to make choices that will lead to positive or negative outcomes.

In 2015, State Farm provided 33 weeks of touring support to take The Choice Bus experience to schools in 11 states. In total, the programs will influence 40,000 students in one calendar year, at no cost to the schools.

To learn more about the Choice Bus or request a school visit, visit their website at http://www.mattiecstewart.org/​.

“There was a gentleman from a school district in Texas, and he said that they looked at the number of students that were not reading at grade level at fourth grade to determine the number of prison beds they would need ten years down the road,” said Debbie Clark, a retired teacher from Hinton Area Elementary School in Hinton, West Virginia. “The next day I looked into [how many of our students were reading below grade level,] and when I found out ours was above 57 percent, I thought, we have to do something.”

Soon thereafter, Clark and Pat Mick, a fellow retired teacher, decided to tackle this problem by addressing student’s nutritional needs, noting the link between nutrition and school achievement. “If you’re hungry, you can’t focus, you can’t do your schoolwork, you’re always thinking about your stomach growling,” observed Karen Bollinger, a reading specialist with the school.

“In the first three years of a student’s school[ing], they learn to read; after that it’s read to learn,” said Mick. The conclusion: these critical years help dictate future success.

Yummy Bags: Food for Thought

So this year, the two of them started Yummy Bags. Yummy Bags’ mission is to address both issues – education and nutrition. The organization provides nutritious meals to third and fourth graders with low reading proficiency at Hinton Area Elementary, in a community with a very high unemployment rate.

Select students get to take home meals for the weekend when they’re not in school and getting the food provided there. In addition, books are also distributed with the hope students will continue to read, or someone reads to them, until they’re back at school on Monday.

Launching in March 2014, Yummy Bags started their service to 15 students. By June, that number was up to 45 and now they are serving, on average, more than 60 students each week.

“Someone cares about them.”

The community has rallied to the cause as well. This past May, their votes of support helped Yummy Bags earn a State Farm Neighborhood Assist® grant of $25,000. To continue to build the education piece in tandem with the nutrition piece, this additional funding will help Yummy Bags launch an after-school tutoring program in 2015. Here, trained adult leaders will work with students on their reading proficiency.

Thanks to this program, teachers are already seeing improvements. “Attendance has improved, because they know every Friday they’re going to get it and they need to be here – and [they know] someone cares about them,” says Bollinger.

With programs like Yummy Bags, kids can focus on school work and not when they’ll be able to eat their next meal. As Bollinger puts it, “When we put the bag in their backpack, you see their face light up and a bright smile and you know that you’ve done something good for that child.”

Just ask Ryan “Shipwreck” Shupe. He has been at Camp Journey, a special camp in Idaho tailored to the needs of pediatric cancer patients, for 11 years – one of those years as a camper himself.

At the age of 10, Ryan was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer. While that can be difficult to deal with as kid, Ryan found some relief when was introduced to Camp Journey. “Camp helped remove those barriers I faced between being a kid with a disease and just being a kid,” he said.

A camp counselor for the past decade, Ryan watches on as 6 year-old Micah Woertink and his friends climb rope courses, swim and enjoy group activities with other kids their age going through the same thing.

This is a much welcome change from the hospital environment Micah is used to, says his mother Grace. “It’s definitely a reward for all of the junk he’s been through,” she said. “He’s so excited to be here and already can’t wait until next year.”

A community of hope, a safe environment

Camp Journey provides a community of hope where children diagnosed with cancer, both on and off treatment, can leave their worries behind. For one week they can enjoy a fun-filled outdoor camp experience tailored to their needs. What makes the camp unique is its entire medical team of pediatric oncology nurses and doctors who are on site at all times to take care of any medical needs. The kids can fully experience the outdoors in a safe environment.

“For us to be able to see that child in a happy setting as well as in our professional setting completes the picture for us of why we love to take care of these kids,” explains Ruth “Rowdy” Seignemartin, R.N ., Director of Nursing at Camp Journey.

The other thing Camp Journey provides is opportunity. Cancer is an expensive disease. Families are often hard-pressed to pay for an experience like that at Camp Journey.

“Coming up with money to send your child to camp is probably something most parents couldn’t do,” says Kari “Kool” Allen, Camp Journey Camp Director, “so we find the funding elsewhere so parents don’t have to worry about it.” The camp runs on 70-80 volunteers like Ryan, and funding from grant programs like State Farm’s Neighborhood Assist.

This year State Farm awarded Camp Journey $25,000 to help give kids the opportunity to spend a week in the outdoors, participating in typical camp activities while making friends who understand and share their situation.

During their time at camp, these kids develop independence and confidence, learn new skills and make memories to last a lifetime. As Kari says, “Until there’s a cure, there’s camp!” Learn more about Camp Journey and how you can help at the camp’s website.

For years, Josh Thompson, Jeremy Wetting and T.J. Duckett were working independently every Thanksgiving to provide families with a holiday meal. Thompson and Weitting were providing several Thanksgiving meals to families in Southwest Michigan. Duckett, a former professional football star, was giving out turkeys in Lansing through his non-profit, New World Flood.

They became aware of each other’s efforts and they decided to join forces four years ago to create the Hands Up Project. Since starting with only a handful of families each, and a goal to double their efforts each year after, their effort has grown exponentially. Now they make an even bigger impact on Michigan families.

“Being able to provide that one meal of the year where families spend time together and connect is what it’s all about for me,” said Jeremy, a State Farm Agent in Otsego, MI. “It’s about contributing to your community when you have the ability to do it.”

To help cover the costs of assembling and donating over 1,000 turkey dinners, the group organizes fundraisers. Duckett serves as a celebrity bartender or barista, signing autographs in exchange for tips. Proceeds are used to purchase supplies for the giveaway. Duckett was a 1998 graduate of Loy Norrix High School. He was a star running back at Michigan State University before being drafted in the first round to play football professionally. He then went on to play in in Atlanta, Washington DC, Detroit and Seattle.

Duckett started a non-profit, New World Flood, to “flood the world with service." New World Flood spread the philosophy that a single raindrop is the beginning of a flood. The Hands Up Project believes that people want a “hand up, not a hand out.” Those constructive beliefs have resulted in a synergy, making a profound impact in southwest Michigan each Thanksgiving.

“People are in need all over. We have an opportunity to take care of a few of them, if just for one day,” says Duckett, who grew up in Kalamazoo and now lives in Lansing. “It’s important to give back. I realized the secret is to give and serve and put as much energy into this mission as I did into football.”