This is a guest post from Audrey Thornborrow, Tech Integrationist at Mississippi Heights Elementary School. Read more mini grant reports on our page.

In February of 2020, when the world was still spinning normally, MidMN Edu put on their 3rd annual Student Powered Conference. Nearly 200 students from area districts (Albany, Sauk Rapids-Rice, Sartell, St. Cloud). The conference was open to 4th-12th-grade students and consisted of a keynote address and breakout sessions. 

The keynote speaker this year was Sauk Rapids-Rice’s very own senior Maddie Bittman. She spoke about opportunities for everyone to get involved in STEM activities. She shared her experiences and inspired others–especially other young girls–to get involved in STEM related learning in and outside school. 

The breakout sessions were created by students. They took their passions and created a presentation sharing their passion with their peers. We saw sessions on how to play the guitar, how to make jewelry and start your own business, how to do experiments with dry ice, and global warming. These kids were so excited to share their passions and all participants enjoyed seeing their enthusiasm as they presented. 

One thing that was new this year was the addition of selfie-stations. The purpose of the selfie station was to have the kids collaboratively help make a piece of art that could be shared with all the schools in attendance. We had the kids take pictures of themselves or their groups and are putting them together in a collage that creates the Student Powered Conference logo. 

As with each year MidMN EDU has helped put on this conference, the kids MADE the conference. This conference wouldn’t exist without the students, their hard work, or their willingness to share their passions. We are so thankful to be able to provide this day to students and are so grateful to CMLE for providing us with the funds to host this conference. 

Below is an account of the day as told by a middle school student: 

This year, I was able to present at the Student Powered Conference instead of just attending it. I taught others how we code and drive Spheros at school. We created a dance to music that the Spheros followed and changed colors with. I learned a lot about coding and working as a group while we got our presentation ready. When we showed others how to use the Spheros it made me feel proud.

I learned a lot at the conference too. The Breakout Room looked like fun but I was unable to go. I really liked learning about the Care Closet that Little Falls created in their school. I think it was great to see students helping others. I liked visiting all the stations in the gym and learning about all the things students were sharing. I was bummed because I couldn’t see it all. I can’t wait to go again next year!