Monroe pastor’s STEM center empowers local students, transforms neighborhood

MONROE, N.C. — Over the course of three decades, a neighborhood in Monroe went from crime ridden to thriving.

The pastor of Monroe’s oldest Black Baptist church told Channel 9’s Gina Esposito it was his dedication and care for children that helped him replace the distractions with educational opportunities.

“When I hear the word resilient or resiliency, I believe this church is the poster child,” Osco Gardin Jr. said.

Gardin is the longest-serving senior pastor of Elizabeth Missionary Baptist Church. It’s been open for 143 years. Gardin is working to balance preservation with intentional growth.

“I’ve been privileged to be pastor of this congregation for 30 wonderful years,” he said. “That is not to say it has not had its challenges.”

Gardin helped to remove the crime that used to plague the area off Maurice Street by buying up problem properties and confronting drug dealers.

As a former educator, Gardin said he’s always had a heart for helping children.

“If you can’t help to make the community that you live in better, then what’s the point?” he added.

With that mission in mind, Gardin opened the STEM Learning Center through his nonprofit, New Covenant Community Development Center, in November. The organization provides educational opportunities to underserved students. The new facility is right next to the church.

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From science lessons to hands-on technology, the free afterschool program is offered to students from three elementary schools in Monroe.

Sharon Johnson’s great granddaughter, Jasiri, is a bright third grader who says she loves the science projects. The program has even inspired her to become an engineer in the future.

“It’s educational, and it’s fun,” she said.

Over the last decade, Gardin has led science and math programs for middle and high schoolers, but he says he wanted to give opportunities to younger students as well.

“What we discovered is about the time we were getting those students in high school, they were already behind in STEM education and STEM activities and training,” Gardin said.

He says he’s already seen the success of those efforts and believes this new endeavor will have an even bigger impact.

“I believe the Lord brought me here, and I’m not going to stop doing the work he has assigned to my hands until the work is done,” he said.

Gardin is also planning to open up a summer camp at the STEM Learning Center, he said. While the afterschool program is primarily funded by the state, the camp would have a fee.

Learn more about the programs here.

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