Inspiring the Next Generation through STEM Reading

Books are powerful tools that nurture a child’s curiosity, imagination and future aspirations. For this reason, we recently collaborated with First Book, a nonprofit working to ensure educational equity for children living in low-income communities, to develop reading programs highlighting the benefits of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

Our collaboration resulted in an immersive video series titled STEM Defines Our Future, which celebrates diversity in STEM and showcases the important ways our employees in various STEM-based roles drive innovation at General Motors. These videos have been distributed to more than 500,000 educators across the country to share directly with students and demonstrate real-world applications of STEM skills.

First Book also created a series of virtual events through the STEM Careers All Year series, where General Motors professionals connect live with students across the country to talk about the ways they use STEM in their day-to-day work.

One of the recent STEM Careers All Year events was hosted by General Motors team member Brianna Jones, a group leader at our Toledo Propulsion facility in Ohio. Brianna spoke to over 400 classes of students and educators across the country about what STEM looks like on the manufacturing floor. She shared how her love of chemistry led her to General Motors and read “A Letter to Bob,” the story of an indigenous child writing a letter to the family car, written by Kim Rogers and illustrated by Jonathan Nelson.