November is National Men's Health Awareness Month, a time dedicated to focusing on the well-being of men and raising awareness about various health issues, including cancer, strokes, diabetes, and mental health. This month encourages men to seek regular checkups and screenings while promoting regular exercise, a balanced diet, and effective stress management.
For Tyrone Taborn, the founder of STEM City USA, November also marks the launch of the Men to Men Virtual Discussion series. This initiative encourages professional men to engage directly with younger men, mentoring, guiding, and inspiring hope.
STEM City USA serves as a digital community hub for young people—a place for dialogue and training. The Men to Men Virtual Discussion is part of STEM City USA's outreach efforts in low-resource communities, focusing on addressing economic and infrastructural challenges.
The discussion series, which is part of the efforts of the BEYA STEM community, emphasizes outreach to underfunded schools and facilitates conversations about access to opportunities in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), as well as investment and future readiness.
Low-resource communities, whether urban or rural, face limitations in access to resources for advancement, such as quality education, broadband, healthcare, and capital, often due to systemic underinvestment. Although these communities are rich in talent and resilience, they are underserved in terms of infrastructure and institutional support.
STEM City USA aims to build a forward-looking ecosystem rooted in clarity, innovation, and meaningful access.
According to Taborn, the Men to Men Virtual Discussion will serve as a digital community square—a platform for dialogue, healing, and leadership training. It will empower participants to redefine what it means to be a man in the 21st century and reclaim visibility in spaces where they may have previously been overlooked.
In December 2023, the Pew Research Center reported a decline in the proportion of young male college students since 2011, based on data from the October 2023 Current Population Survey. Pew highlighted a gradual decrease in college enrollment among young Americans over the past decade.
- By 2022, the number of 18- to 24-year-olds enrolled in college had dropped by approximately 1.2 million from its peak in 2011.
- This decline is primarily due to a significant decrease in the number of young men attending college, with roughly 1 million fewer men enrolled compared to only 200,000 fewer women.
- Consequently, men now make up 44% of young college students, a decrease from 47% in 2011, according to recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
- This shift is primarily attributed to the declining share of men enrolled in four-year colleges, where men currently represent 42% of students aged 18 to 24, down from 47% in 2011.
- Enrollment declines at two-year colleges, primarily community colleges, have been similar for both genders, resulting in a relatively stable gender ratio.
- Men now account for 49% of students aged 18 to 24 at these institutions, a slight increase from 48% in 2011.
According to a 2021 Pew Research Center survey, the decline in young college enrollment since 2011 can be partially attributed to adults without a bachelor's degree who are not enrolled in college.
Men are more likely than women to report that they did not attend college because they either did not want to or felt they did not need further education for their desired careers.
However, both men and women equally cite the inability to afford a four-year degree as a significant reason for not completing their college education.
Recent studies reveal that only 59 percent of Black male students graduate high school on time, in contrast to 80 percent of their White peers.
Additionally, Black boys are suspended or expelled three times more often than their counterparts, starting as early as preschool. In the workforce, Black men experience unemployment rates nearly double those of White men. The median wealth for a single Black man is $10,000, whereas for a single White man it is $56,000. Furthermore, despite global praise for innovation in science and technology, Black men represent less than 4 percent of the STEM workforce.
Taborn emphasizes the importance of positive role models and mentors.
He had a reconnection with his father, who had been absent for most of his life while he was in college. Taborn believes that this absence creates a void. He considers himself fortunate to have had role models enter his life. One such individual was a Jewish man named Dan Hirsch, who took Taborn under his wing and significantly changed the course of his life.
"His belief in me, his patience, and his example helped me understand what manhood and mentorship could mean," Taborn said. "That experience taught me something profound: it doesn't take shared race to share responsibility. It requires compassion, commitment, and the courage to show up."
Built on the principles of technology, mentorship, and cultural preservation, STEM City USA provides a metaverse ecosystem for rebuilding communities from within.
The Men to Men initiative extends this mission by equipping men and boys with the tools, mentors, and connections they need to thrive. The vision is both simple and revolutionary: to replace isolation with connection, despair with purpose.
