In memory of Lillie Scott Grooms, a pioneering Black woman in the medical field who was a Nurse Administrator in the Boston area for decades, the Fund seeks to encourage a passion for learning in the STEM arena and to enable underrepresented youth to receive support to pursue careers in science, mathematics, and healthcare while also serving as examples for other young people who may want to pursue those career fields.
STEM-based education teaches children more than science and mathematical concepts. The focus on firsthand learning with real-world applications helps develop creativity and 21st-century skills such as media and technology literacy, productivity, social skills, communication, flexibility, and initiative. Other skills attained through STEM education include problem-solving, critical thinking, creativity, curiosity, decision-making, leadership, entrepreneurship, acceptance of failure, and more.
After graduating from a segregated school system in South Carolina in the 1940s, Mrs. Grooms understood how STEM prepares future generations to be successful in their careers. Moreover, she knew that the skills gained from STEM education extend beyond those needed to be successful in STEM fields, preparing children with varied interests who move into any industry to have valuable skill sets that allow them to be successful.
Established by an initial donation from NCCF Trustee Jacklyn Mitchell Wynn, the Fund honors the commitment Mrs. Grooms placed on continuing education, healthcare, and the sciences. The Grooms family as well as the NCCF family at large have joined together to grow and sustain this Fund in an effort to ensure that youth who shine in these areas are able to continue their education much like their predecessor, Lillie Grooms, who after many years in the health services field, returned to school when both her children were in college to complete her hard-earned Bachelor’s in Nursing, and later, a Master’s in Public Health, from Boston University. Her legacy which involves training numerous medical professionals and specialists in Boston, also includes one granddaughter, an adolescent and child psychiatrist and administrator at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, DC, and another, who holds a Ph.D. in Public Health at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.
