Communities (COVID-19)
Fast Company Podcast: How A Public School STEM Competition Is Helping Educate The Next Wave Of Empathetic Innovators
1/28/2021
![Samsung Solve for Tomorrow_April 2, 2019](https://img.us.news.samsung.com/us/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/11114445/Ann-Woo-Solve-for-Tomorrow.jpg)
By Ann Woo, Senior Director of Corporate Citizenship, Samsung Electronics America
I recently participated in Fast Company’s “Uncommon Good” podcast, a new series that features conversations with the business leaders who combine purpose with innovative thinking to give back to their local or global community. In this episode, host Chris Denson connected with me virtually to learn about Samsung’s efforts to create positive change through our corporate citizenship programs. I chose to spotlight Samsung Solve for Tomorrow program, our nationwide science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) competition that challenges public school students in grades 6-12 to develop creative, empathetic solutions that address some of the most pressing issues in their local communities and society at large.
![Solve for Tomorrow - STEM Education Contest 2019](https://img.us.news.samsung.com/us/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/14102616/sft-Solve-for-Tomorrow-Owensville_High_School_2019_National_SFT_Winner-600x400.jpg)
Owensville High School in Owensville, Missouri was named a 2019 national winner in the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Contest at a ceremony on Tuesday, April 2, 2019 at the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City. Teacher Kevin Lay and students Jonah Hoffman, Paige Tayloe and Trey Fisher received the award from Samsung’s Dr. David Steel, EVP and Head of Corporate Affairs and Ann Woo, Senior Director of Corporate Citizenship. The students won for designing a lock to quickly secure a classroom in the event of a school shooting.
As I reflect on my journey leading up to this moment – with Solve for Tomorrow now in its 11th year and my 15 years at Samsung, it seems my life has come full circle. I was often one of few girls – if not the only girl – taking computer science classes when I was younger. I realized then that so much more was needed to create the right STEM learning environment. As I began my career, I felt compelled to seek purpose in the work that I do to move the agenda forward, whether it be discovering a new approach to driving business performance, developing a greater understanding of who the target consumer is, or tapping into a company’s values to find the right vehicle for social change. For example, my experience in Samsung’s Consumer/Market Insights group uniquely benefited my work in Citizenship. Similar to uncovering hidden factors that lead consumers toward brand affinity, for Citizenship initiatives to drive real social impact, one needs to not only understand the actual situation, but one must dig deeper to uncover the mindset of those involved, their motivations, and the stated and unstated barriers that are impeding progress.