By the end of this decade, there will be over 10 million people working STEM jobs.

STEM, or Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, is pervasive. You can find science anywhere, from the paper you're reading this article on to the computer on which I am typing it up.

Unfortunately, a negative stigma surrounding STEM has developed across middle and high schools in the US. Science and math are difficult subjects for many students, causing them to give up well before college. This attitude change happens in most students somewhere between third and fifth grade, and once it happens, it ferociously loops, erasing all hopes of escaping it. Failing a science test causes you to dislike the subject and not study for a future test.

I have seen this problem firsthand amongst my classmates. My very own best friend used to be the brightest kid in my class. Then middle school happened. He hasn't been the same ever since.

When I realized all of this, I created an organization called START, or Science To Action Road Trips, with the goal of providing underprivileged kids with experiential learning opportunities. By seeing science in action, they develop positive mental connections between science and fun, thus reversing that dreaded mindset switch.

This past January, I raised over 1600 dollars and took the fourth graders at W.J. Scott Elementary School to Sky Zone, an indoor trampoline park. Before, during, and after the trip, my volunteers, the teachers, and I all enforced the idea of "keeping math in their minds" as they jumped. We pushed them to explore how gravity and friction affected their experiences on a trampoline, in the foam pit, and dunking a basketball. Furthermore, by aligning our experiments with the state standards for education, we helped prepare them for their final exams.

I realized afterwards that the trip peaked the students' interest levels. In the classroom, they were so eager to share what they had learned, a stark difference to their general apathy at the start of the day.

I've heard from many teachers since that I should never give up the fight against "the shift." That millions of students across the country have the same problem, and that many educators attempt to overload the students with additional courses instead of targeting the core problem: it's difficult to be good at something you don't care about. And to all of those teachers, I will never, ever give up.