STEM SENC Receives Corning Grant

Tiffany Lindstrom has received a $1,000 Corning Employee Vibrant Community Grant for STEM SENC. Lindstrom is a senior product Engineer with Corning Optical Communications in Wilmington, and a STEM SENC steering committee member.

Lindstrom presented the award check to Watson College Dean Tracy Linderholm and STEM SENC Executive Director Heddy Clark on March 31.

Corning’s Employee Vibrant Community Grants program from Community Impact & Investment provides an opportunity for active part-time and full-time Corning employees to be a part of the grant writing process. A total of 60 nonprofit awards are granted each year based on employee nominations that include an essay describing how the organization contributes to the vibrancy of a Corning community.

“As Vice Chair, I work with the 10 Steering committee members of STEM SENC year-round to bring and support important STEM initiatives in the 13 counties surrounding our Wilmington, NC plant, with UNCW’s Watson College of Education serving as the lead organization,” Lindstrom wrote in her proposal. “In addition to supporting Science Fairs, STEM PD for Teachers, Science Olympiad, Museum exhibits and various STEM Community Events, STEM SENC has raised funds to sponsor Mini Grants for teachers, bring the Million Girls Moonshot initiative to our state and enabled us to offer an “Extreme STEM Day” at the Corning plant for 8^th grade and high school students from rural counties. STEM SENC’S initiatives have helped to open students’ eyes to opportunities in STEM with Corning.”

This is the second Corning grant award Lindstrom has donated to STEM SENC. In 2021, she designated her $1,000 grant award from the Corning Foundation Excellence in Volunteerism Award to the regional STEM partnership.

“Tiffany has been a valued member of our STEM SENC Steering Committee since our organization was created in 2018,” Clark said. “We are very grateful for her strong support and dedication to STEM learning in our region. On behalf of the organization, I sincerely thank her for both her time and this financial contribution. The support of industry partners is vital as we prepare students in southeastern North Carolina to be college and career ready.”

About STEM SENC

STEM SENC is a network of formal and informal educators in 13 counties that provides aspirational learning opportunities in science, technology, engineering and math for students, families and educators.

For more information about STEM SENC and the opportunities it provides, visit the STEM SENC website.