STEM Week will include scholarship information, internship opportunities, a STEM-related movie and meet and greet.
Evelyn Reyes
sac-ranger@alamo.edu
Illustration by Juan Carlos Campos
STEM Week, Sept. 14-19 on this campus, offers plenty of events to teach students majoring in science, technology, engineering and mathematics about scholarships, research and internship opportunities.
STEM includes a variety of majors ranging from computer science to biomedical research.
The Mathematics, Engineering and Science Advancement Center will host the week. The MESA center offers support to students seeking a degree in the STEM field, and is in Room 204 of Chance Academic Center.
“It’s a national program that started in the ’70s in California with the intent of helping to diversify STEM fields,” said Analisa Sengele, senior student success adviser and MESA Center coordinator.
“The program was brought to San Antonio College in 2007 and the goal of the center is to help underrepresented minorities to be successful in graduating and transferring to four-year schools,” she said.
The MESA Center is open to all students, but students majoring in those fields receive priority tutoring assistance, she said.
STEM Week begins with presentations by students who were asked to do research over the summer.
Projects included research on solar-powered vehicles, tissue regeneration and microscopic fossils.
Presentations will begin at 9 a.m. Monday and Tuesday in the MESA Center.
STEM-ulate will begin at 9 a.m. Wednesday in the mall and will include different groups on campus with information about scholarship opportunities like the META Scholarship and other engineering groups with information about internships and job shadowing opportunities.
A panel of STEM faculty will meet future students and offer tips on how to prepare for their classes and be successful in their field.
The panel will begin at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in Room 204 of Chance.
After the panel, there will be a meet and greet with faculty, senior officers from STEM organizations and students who participated in the summer research program.
The meet and greet will begin at 3:30 p.m. Thursday in the MESA Center. Light refreshments will be provided.
A free STEM-related movie will begin at 1 p.m. Friday in the MESA Center.
Organizers are still deciding what movie to screen. “Star Wars” is in the lead, Sengele said.
The last event, STEM-Mania, will begin at 9 a.m. Saturday in Scobee Education Center and is open to the public.
STEM-Mania will feature astrophysicist and children’s book author Dr. Jeffery Bennett, a Scholastic Book Fair featuring STEM-related books and activities for elementary and middle school students.
Bennett, author of the “Max Science Adventure” series, will give a presentation on STEM education and children’s literacy.
The book fair will include a book signing by Bennett and other local authors.
“(We are trying) to increase awareness of STEM fields and what the opportunities are and what exactly STEM is, basically just try to educate the community,” Sengele said.
For more information about MESA or STEM Week, contact Sengele at 210-486-1825 or visit www.alamo.edu/sac/mesa.
