“My daughter won’t let me get away with not volunteering next year.”
Dave Cosgrove, R&D Engineer, AOD (Agile Operations Division) NetOps at Broadcom Inc., volunteered as a judge at the 2022 Utah Science & Engineering Fair and helped to select the recipient for a Broadcom Foundation-sponsored award called Broadcom Coding with Commitment® that recognizes students in grades 5-8 who combine STEM learning with coding to solve a community problem they care about that aligns with the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
Dave credits his decision to volunteer at his local science fair to his 11-year-old daughter who hopes to study at MIT someday.
“I had a feeling it would be a great opportunity to share with my daughter, and it did not disappoint!” said Dave. “We were both really inspired with the creativity and execution of the projects. I know my daughter’s mind was racing with new ideas, and her eyes lit up with excitement for her own future.”
Dave was instrumental in choosing the award recipient for the Broadcom Coding with Commitment recognition that is intended to reach under-represented or under-resourced students, whose access to STEM and coding resources may be more limited than other participants.
“One thing that I learned is that access, opportunity, and mentorship are critical. It was clear to me that some participants likely had significant outside support; however, others I speculated did not (or at least not to the same degree),” said Dave. “While this was a great opportunity for both me and my daughter, my daughter has, in me, a father who works in the software industry and can provide a high level of support. I’m much more interested in reaching those young minds that do not have such support at home, yet have an interest in learning more about STEM.”
There are not a lot of young women engaged in STEM in Dave’s community, so it was exciting to meet young women who were presenting serious research, he remarked.
“This is a rare opportunity to keep a pulse on what young minds think are worthwhile issues to address using technology. Every single submission that I reviewed provided inspiration,” said Dave.
Stay tuned as Dave plans to judge the 2023 Maine State Science Fair with a little help from his daughter!
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Did you know that Broadcom Software holds 3,200+ software-related patents? With such a large emphasis on innovation, we are excited to support the next generation of STEM leaders. Learn more about what it’s like to work in software at Broadcom.