Olympic swimming champion Katie Ledecky donned a white coat Tuesday afternoon to join high school students in their lab activities at Cedar Trails Exploration Center in Lenexa.
Ledecky, the most decorated American female Olympian in history, visited with students from De Soto Unified School District No. 232, as a part of her partnership with Panasonic to promote science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics — also known as STEAM — education.
“Education has always been really important to me,” Ledecky said. “I loved some STEM subjects right from the start of my academic journey. In swimming, I think I developed this love of math. I’m a distance swimmer, so I was always calculating pace times and running all the numbers in my head.
“I also had some really great science teachers growing up that really inspired me,” she added. “I’m excited to just be here in Kansas and share my love of science.”
Ledecky started working with Panasonic in 2018 to promote STEAM education. During her visit to the Cedar Trails Exploration Center and Mill Creek Middle School, she:
- Toured the Cedar Trails Exploration Center, which houses USD 232’s Center for Advanced Professional Studies, or CAPS, for high school juniors and seniors.
- Joined biomedical innovation students for activities, like measuring blood pressure and swabbing a phone for contaminants.
- Met with the district’s Women in STEM team.
- Answered questions from Mill Creek Middle School career exploration pathway students.
- Talked with district leaders and staff about leadership and the importance of STEAM opportunities.
“We appreciate the partnership with Panasonic that has allowed Katie Ledecky to be here,” said Sam Ruff, the district’s director of post-secondary success. “Opportunities for our students to engage and speak with and learn from someone who’s inspiring, certainly, is just really appreciated.”
When Panasonic decided to build a plant in De Soto, which opened earlier this year, it sought partnerships with nearby school districts and Johnson County Community College. This includes monetary donations, special events like Ledecky’s visit and workforce development, like JCCC’s new automation engineer technology program.
“I keep saying, ‘We’re just getting started,’” said Julie Sailors, Panasonic government and community affairs senior manager. “Groundbreaking was about three years ago. We just produced our millionth battery a couple of weeks ago, but we’ll be here for generations.”
Panasonic’s goal aligns well with the De Soto school district’s — giving students firsthand experience in STEAM fields.
“We want students to use their high school experience as a springboard for success, for what comes next for them,” Ruff said. “So, we need to then provide additional opportunities for students to have real-world learning opportunities that they are going to be able to take with them.”
For Ledecky, as she continues to encourage STEAM education, she wants to leave students with a key message — to “just follow their passions.”
“I’d like to just share that message that if you find something you really, really love, try to be the very best you can be at it, whether that’s in the science lab or in the pool or on the field or in some other subject or activity,” Ledecky said. “I think there are so many great opportunities out there to be the best version of yourself, and that can look different from one student to the next.”
Keep reading about Ledecky’s visit: Olympian Katie Ledecky swam by a Johnson County school to get kids excited about STEAM careers
