A group of students from Queens, NY, recently went to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum to attend the Youth Leadership Conference, sponsored by Time Warner Cable. Students from I.S. 59 in Springfield Gardens, along with J.H.S. 189 in Flushing, attended presentations, workshops and panel discussions on the importance of learning science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to gain the jobs of the future.
 The Youth Leadership Conference featured a panel of esteemed engineers and scientists. The conference’s keynote speaker was Jasmin Hume, PhD Candidate for Materials Chemistry at NYU Poly. Ms. Hume was also the New York City winner of Time Warner Cable’s Super Connector contest, which asked customers to share how they have connected young people to the wonders of STEM.
 Other panelists included Senior Engineer at Thornton Tomasetti Claudia Fischmann, and Estimating Engineer at Skanska USA Kate Johnson. Each speaker discussed how STEM played an incredibly important role and positively affected their lives and careers.
 As part of the day’s events, students also divided into small, brainstorming sessions to come up with unique and awesome ideas for Time Warner Cable’s Wouldn’t It Be Cool If…(WIBCI).WIBCI was a contest jointly presented by Time Warner Cable’s philanthropic STEM initiative, Connect a Million Minds (CAMM), and i.am FIRST, founded by artist, entertainer and entrepreneur will.i.am. The contest challenged youths to dream up the coolest thing that would make their lives, communities or even the world a better place, and then to think about how science and math could help bring those ideas to life.
 “The Youth Leadership Conference was another great opportunity to provide students with a unique insight into the wonders of science, technology, engineering and math,” said Time Warner Cable’s Regional Vice President of Operations for New York City John Quigley. “We thank the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum for providing a simply spectacular venue for this event and are appreciative of all the museum’s efforts to promote the teaching and learning of technology and related fields.”
 CAMM is an initiative created by Time Warner Cable in 2009, designed to inspire the next generation of problem solvers by connecting young people to the wonders of science, technology, engineering and math.
For more information, visit www.connectamillionminds.com.  For more information about Wouldn’t It Be Cool If…, visit www.wouldntitbecoolif.com.