U.S. Senator Kelly Ayotte, R-NH, paid a visit to Bosch Thermotechnology North America in Londonderry on Tuesday, Aug. 19, for the donation of $4,866 to Londonderry High School for use in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) curriculum.
After a brief tour of the company, Ayotte, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Scott Laliberte, School Board member Nancy Hendricks and Bosch employees got together for the donation.
Richard Soper, president of Bosch, said STEM fits in with what Bosch does in creating its product. Bosch’s Community Fund foundation seeks to re-invest into the communities where the company is located.
“We have since 2012 funded grants totaling over $5 million,” Soper said.
Bosch representative Kyle Murray presented the check for $4,866 to Laliberte, who accepted in place of Superintendent of Schools Nathan Greenberg, who had been called away.
“On behalf of the students, staff, administration and school community I would like to thank Bosch for this generosity to our students,” Laliberte said. “So much of the work that we’re doing with STEM is creating the core concepts for the students in the classroom.”
Ayotte said she was impressed with the commitment to the community that Bosch had and with the grants the Bosch foundation had provided.
“These grants are critical because we have a real gap in our country right now when it comes to STEM education. There is a need – we need to try and bring the excitement back to the classroom for STEM education,” Ayotte said.
Ayotte said many businesses in the U.S. “really need those qualified scientists in STEM, and I would like to commend Bosch for giving these grants that focus on STEM education, to help give support to our local schools for innovative programs and to get more kids involved with STEM education.”
Ayotte said that part of getting more kids excited about STEM involves getting more young women interested in that field.
“There’s going to be a 20 percent increase in the need for STEM-based education because that’s where the jobs are,” Ayotte said. “We only have a 25 percent estimate of women and young women entering into that field.”
A grant was also given to Manchester West High School.
Bosch Thermotechnology is the North American operation of the Bosch Group’s heating and hot water division.