Absolute Resource

Press Release: Newburyport Student Visits ARA Laboratory

PORTSMOUTH, NH, April 16, 2013-  When she needed some help with a project for the science fair at Immaculate Conception School in Newburyport, MA, 12 year old Sydney Noyes knew just what to do. Knowing her Mom had friends in the laboratory business, Sydney took her bottled water experiment straight to the scientists at Absolute Resource Associates (ARA) in Portsmouth, NH. Lab Director Aaron DeWees was happy to show Sydney the ins and outs of testing water samples, and she came away with some data for her project as well as a greater understanding of what goes on inside an environmental laboratory.

ARA President Susan Sylvester arranged for Sydney's visit because she believes that getting kids interested in science at an early age is important. In addition to welcoming visitors like Sydney, ARA often hires young students and interns as a way of exposing young people to future careers in science, technology and the environment. "It is our collective responsibility to reach out to young, motivated students like Sydney and give them exposure to the types of careers that are available, in any discipline!" said Sylvester. "There is clearly a need for more science and math focused students, so we hope we can use activities like this to attract the next generation of students to these fields of study."

Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) careers are among the fastest growing jobs in the world, but educators and businesses are finding that unless something changes, the pool of STEM students is not likely to keep up with demand. That is why some schools and businesses, like ARA, are making a big effort to create interest in STEM fields at a young age. Sydney's mother, Susan, commented, "these types of projects keep her interested in science, and she becomes fascinated about matters she never even gave a second thought about!" Who knows what her future holds, but for now, Sydney says that science is her favorite subject and spending the afternoon in a real laboratory was "very cool."

About Absolute Resource Associates:
Absolute Resource Associates provides a broad range of environmental services to clients throughout New England and beyond. Services include Environmental Laboratory Testing, Indoor Air Quality Services as well as Federal Project Management. Woman Owned SBA WOSB, EDWOSB, SDB, DBE, NELAC, ISO/IEC 17025 and DoD ELAP. For more information visit www.absoluteresourceassociates.com.