Reflections on Fifteen Years with Broadcom Foundation Paula Golden, President
Broadcom Foundation
Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are the cornerstones of education and innovation and the foundations of advanced civilization. In 2009 Broadcom Corporation created a quasi-endowed non-profit to “advance STEM and increase opportunity.” The structure was very forward-looking because funding of corporate philanthropy tends to be from year to year, based on profit and loss. By contrast, Broadcom Foundation has the financial stability to make multi-year commitments that have transformed the lives of thousands of young people over fifteen years.
The first signature initiative of the foundation was a thought leadership opportunity like none other: to sponsor the Society for Science’s middle school science fair competition that became known worldwide as the Broadcom MASTERS®, which stands for Math, Applied Science, Technology and Engineering for Rising Stars. The Broadcom MASTERS informed the foundation’s funding and programmatic goals for young people ever since: find your tribe; find your passion within; develop 21st century skills and digital literacy to be prepared for today’s workforce and contribute to solving global challenges through science and technology.
Rites of Passage in STEM
Young people in adolescence between the approximate ages of 10 and 16 go through remarkable neurological and developmental changes. The drive for independence, individuality, identity, and self-esteem are archetypal hallmarks of the adolescent experience. Kids become outwardly focused on their peers and look for ways to fit into a social group. Ancient and modern cultures have tapped into this developmental phase by creating “rites of passage” for young teens. In modern societies, this might be a formal confirmation or bar/bat mitzvah, a quinceañera, a sweet sixteen party, or, on the darker side, ritualistic induction into a street gang.
French anthropologist Arnold van Gennep, who coined this term, observed that rites of passage often share similar characteristics: a period of segregation from a previous way of life; a state of transition from one status to another; and a process of introduction to a new community or social status. The Broadcom MASTERS® program tapped into these rites of passage for gifted STEM students who participated in science fairs. Broadcom MASTERS Finalists were taken out of their comfort zones and given a deep dive into an intense group experience in order to envision themselves as future scientists, engineers, or innovators within a “tribe” of similarly situated youth. Alumni of the Broadcom MASTERS approach us regularly to say how this experience changed their lives, forged lifelong friendships, and created a support structure that had not existed before. They speak of having a stronger sense of self and connecting to a larger scientific community that embraced and encouraged them and bonded with them as they went forward into future endeavors as young adults.
Finding the Passion Within
Mark Twain famously said, “The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why.”
Henry Samueli, co-founder of Broadcom and one of the greatest innovators of his generation, credits building a short-wave radio from a Graymark kit in middle school with igniting his passion for electrical engineering. Broadcom Foundation draws from Henry’s story and the stories of other former Broadcom engineers who speak of their “ah ha” moments as kids – such as Eben Upton who hacked around with demos at Computer World and Prasanthi Sathyaprakash who built with Legos as a young girl in India – to enable young people to tap into an innate passion that can open STEM career pathways. Its signature programs like Broadcom MASTERS®, Broadcom Coding with Commitment®, Raspberry Pi Code Clubs, and Coolest Projects embody this philosophy.
Although some kids are fortunate to have the support of family, school, and community to find and follow their passions, there are millions of underserved and underrepresented kids who do not have access to resources or insight that can lead them to STEM pathways. To impact this diverse population of untapped STEM talent, Broadcom Foundation’s signature programs focus on helping underrepresented students identify their passions and interests in middle school so that they can access high school courses that open the door to STEM college or careers. Support for after-school code clubs is part of the strategy to bring personal interests and skillsets together in an environment where K-8th grade students have more time to focus on a STEM or coding project than they might during school time. The foundation works closely with organizations like the Girl Scouts in Santa Ana, California, Renaissance Youth Center in the Bronx, New York, and CODE313 in Detroit, Michigan, as well as select science fairs in urban, rural, and tribal regions to give young people a window into how they can marry their personal interests in STEM with basic coding to realize their full potential.
In addition to engaging students directly through its signature programs, Broadcom Foundation sponsors WikiEdu.org to engage classrooms at HBCUs, Hispanic, and Tribal colleges to research and prepare biographical entries of unsung STEM pioneers of color or ethnic origin into Wikipedia, where their stories in this ubiquitous online information resource will inspire a young person to follow a path such as theirs. As Vikki Shepp, CEO of the Girls Scouts of Orange County, says, “If you can’t see it, you can’t be it.”
Focus on Coding and Digital Literacy
Believing that coding is a 21st Century+ skill that everyone – especially girls, under-resourced, and underrepresented –youth – need to compete for highly skilled jobs in emerging industries built on technologies of the future, Eben Upton created the Raspberry Pi with a Broadcom microchip. Broadcom Foundation has built upon Upton’s basic premise by investing in after-school Code Clubs in grades K through 8 to expose young people to basic coding and provide optimal project-based learning time to practice this foundational skill needed for workforce readiness. The foundation has teamed up with Raspberry Pi Foundation to expand Code Clubs in the US and around the world to provide ‘ah ha’ moments like that of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, who joined a computer club at age 13 and discovered his passion by writing a computer code for a version of tic-tac-toe.
In addition to advocating coding and supporting universal broadband, Broadcom Foundation invests heavily in the STEM Learning Ecosystems with TIES (Teaching Institute for Education in STEM) to elevate and bring together teachers, education professionals, and community after-school programs to create 24/7 connectivity in STEM for young people, with emphasis on improving the quality of STEM education for all. Theoretical physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking credited his teacher for inspiring him to pursue “mathematics, more mathematics, and physics.” Because teachers and mentors are critical in building students’ self-confidence to pursue STEM subjects, the foundation has supported programs like STEMNext Opportunity Fellowships, Beyond 100K in 10, and other programs committed to increasing and preparing educators of the future to help reverse the STEM educator deficit. As Star Wars filmmaker George Lucas wrote, “Digital technology can do so many amazing things for the learning process, but it can't be human… (to say) things like, I know you can do this.”
Civic Engagement
In addition to arming students with 21st century+ skill like coding, the foundation encourages civic engagement through Broadcom Coding with Commitment®, which recognizes students in middle school who combine STEM learning with basic coding and computational thinking to solve a community problem they care about and aligns with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations. While critical thinking is important for becoming proficient in STEM subjects, it is also an essential characteristic of a robust democratic society. Kids are never too young to think globally while acting locally, and Broadcom Coding with Commitment® seeks to elevate and amplify this proposition that civic awareness of the next generation of scientists and engineers is critical to the health of our fragile planet and survival of society as a whole.
In Gratitude
In fifteen short years, the Broadcom Foundation has successfully put itself on the map as a global thought leader in STEM. This is due to the hard work of its dedicated board and staff who have been the heart and soul of the foundation since its inception. In addition, the foundation’s close partnership with its corporate parent Broadcom Inc. has created a positive social impact in regions where Broadcom employees live and work. Broadcom employees have dedicated their time as volunteers, mentors, and judges. Company engineers have swiped and prepped decommissioned laptops to put them into the hands of bright young people who do not have resources to own personal computers, so they can learn to code at foundation-sponsored out-of-school code clubs. Thank you all for what you do to fulfill Broadcom Foundation’s mission of advancing STEM and creating opportunity for thousands of young people around the world.
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Founded in 2009, Broadcom Foundation is a corporate nonprofit that advocates for equitable access to STEM education and digital literacy as essential for attaining meaningful employment and becoming productive citizens in a technology-driven society. The Foundation promotes basic coding as a critical 21st Century+ skill all young people need to be creative STEM problem solvers who think critically, communicate, collaborate, and that will help realize the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.
Broadcom Inc. is a global technology leader that designs, develops, and supplies a broad range of semiconductor, enterprise software and security solutions. Solutions include service provider and enterprise networking and storage, mobile device and broadband connectivity, mainframe, cybersecurity, and private and hybrid cloud infrastructure.
