PRINCETON, N.J. – Earlier this fall, the Princeton rowing teams met at Mercer Lake with middle schooler children from the Trenton for the STEM-to-Stern Program.
 
STEM-to-Stern, started by Will Bott at the Milwaukee Rowing Club, encourages participation by underserved youth by providing not just an introduction to rowing, but also a range of specific support in eight areas that STEM-to-Stern sees as rowing's barriers to access.

In addition to the actual rowing and middle schools to partner with, those eight components also include transportation, swimming lessons, volunteers, after-school snacks, and fundraising, along with the program's signature element: a STEM focused academic component that helps attract and retain middle schoolers.

"STEM-to-Stern is an amazing organization that provides a formula to run a successful program by addressing the challenges and providing strategies to help work through some of the barriers to access," says Princeton women's Head Coach Lori Dauphiny said. "We are lucky to have the Princeton National Rowing Association right next door. Kris Grudt and Arlynn Baer are awesome to work with, eager to work together and provide a great environment for training both on and off the water."
 
This partnering between a collegiate program and a community rowing club has been central to the success of STEM-to-Stern programs. A partnership with the Milwaukee School of Engineering provided the first STEM-to-Stern effort with access to vans for transportation and collegiate athletes who could serve as coaches, STEM tutors and, perhaps most crucially, role models to the young people getting involved.
 
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The 2022 season gets underway at the end of March with the Ivy League Women’s Rowing Championship set for Sunday, May 15 at the Cooper River in Pennsauken, N.J.