Sophia Sozzi is a former public school teacher turned stay-at-home mom. When she moved to Stafford 10 months ago, she loved the wide-open spaces and relaxed atmosphere for her two children. But she also noticed her kids needed more opportunities to learn, especially in the STEM area (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics)

“Many of the haves and have nots in our children’s future will be determined by the technological mastery our kids bring to the table. That means we all need to make an investment in educating our kids about the joys and rewards of STEM,” says Sozzi.

It started with a donation of robotics kits, laptops and other items to Stafford County Public Schools and Stafford Junction, a nonprofit that serves the seven poorest neighborhoods in Stafford County. Sozzi obtained a donation from HDT Global, a worldwide leader in highly-engineered, integrated expeditionary products and solutions based in Spotyslvania, to purchase DigitalKidz Lego robot kits and laptops. She then convinced Cyber Bytes Foundation, a Stafford nonprofit, to donate space to train one teacher per elementary school on how to build and program the robots, (post-COVID).

Stafford Parks and Rec also joined Sozzi’s efforts to expand STEM opportunities. Stafford County Parks and Recreation has added classes by Abrakadoodle, an arts program for 3-year-olds and up and STEM classes from C3 CyberClub.

Her next goal is to form a a STEM-focused coalition of businesses and governmental partners that will design and support the innovative programs needed to prepare Stafford kids for technical jobs of the future.

For more information about STEM initiatives in Stafford, including if you or your company are interested in joining the STEM Leadership Council or helping in other ways, contact Sophia Sozzi at [email protected]. 

To join a Facebook group dedicated to STEM in Stafford, including information from camps to home activities, news, events and other information, join “STEM UP Stafford” at  facebookcom/groups/211995503754632 or subscribe to the FredParent Summer Camp Eletters.