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Session 2470

A Novel Summer Camp for the Underrepresented Minority High School Students

Dr. Mihir K. Das California State University, Long Beach

ABSTRACT

This paper discusses the experience gained from an innovative summer camp called Fluor Daniel Summer Camp (FDSC) designed for underrepresented minority students with a special grant from the Fluor Daniel Foundation. The FDSC project specifically supported the academic enrichment of 20 high caliber students from the Compton, Long Beach, and Lynwood School Districts in the Southern Region of Los Angeles County. The primary objective of the program was to strengthen the students’ commitment and confidence in pursuing higher levels of mathematics and science and to enter a career in engineering. The newly developed curriculum focused on the use of mathematics and sciences in higher education, and demonstrated how sciences and mathematics are used to solve real-life engineering problems. It also had an critical component relating to the computer and its uses in engineering and communications, including some skills training in wordprocessing, spreadsheets, computer graphics, and networking using Internet. Further, there was an important parent component empowering the parents to become actively involved in the education of their children.

INTRODUCTION

The College of Engineering at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) has been actively involved in the pre-college education effort for many years with the implementation of the MESA (Math, Engineering, Science Achievement) Secondary (Pre-College) Program. The MESA mission is to motivate and prepare high school and junior high students to pursue math- based college education and careers. This mission is accomplished through developing academic and leadership skills, raising educational expectations, and instilling self-confidence in historically underrepresented students, namely African Americans, American Indians, Mexican Americans and Latin Americans, in engineering, physical science, and other math-based fields, in order to increase the numbers who graduate from a four-year university. The MESA Secondary Program services about 16 high and middle schools, in heavily minority districts, throughout the academic year and helps students from grades 6 through 12. Almost all MESA students go on to college, with a fraction attending CSULB. The College supports this program with year-round programs, operating expenditures, work-study students, participation by the Associate Dean for Instruction to oversee the program, and a Corporate Advisory and Development Council. For the MESA Summer Enrichment Program, the campus provides classrooms, computer laboratories, and supplies. The Fluor Daniel Summer Camp (FDSC) was a special program within the framework of MESA Summer Camp for underrepresented minority students planned for the Summer 1994.

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Das, D. M. K. (1997, June), A Novel Summer Camp For The Underrepresented Minority High School Students Paper presented at 1997 Annual Conference, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. 10.18260/1-2--6714