Paper ID #45210Bridging Futures Takes a Village: A Pre-College Collaborative Educationand Research Approach to Broaden Participation of Underrepresented Populationin STEM Career PathwaysDr. Olgha Bassam Qaqish, North Carolina State University at Raleigh Olgha Bassam Qaqish, Ph.D. is a prominent figure in engineering education and research, currently serving as the director of the Engineering Grand Challenges Scholars Program (GCSP) at NC State University. With a diverse background encompassing education, research, mentorship, and innovation. Dr. Qaqish is a driving force in shaping the academic landscape. She holds a
Paper ID #45198Report of a Survey of Early Career Latinx Engineers: Trends across 3 Yearsin Perceptions of the Workplace, Social Cognitions, Job Satisfaction, andTurnover IntentionsDr. Lisa Y Flores, University of Missouri - Columbia Lisa Y. Flores, Ph.D. is a Professor of Psychological Sciences at the University of Missouri. She has expertise in the career development of Latinx and Latinx immigrant issues and has over 100 peer reviewed journal publications, 19 book chapters, and 3 co-edited books.Dr. Rachel L Navarro, University of North Dakota Rachel L. Navarro, Ph.D. is Professor of Counseling Psychology and Associate
ranked academic unit at Wake Forest University. Olga is a national thought leader in higher education and engineering education. She is a biomedical and mechanical engineer as well as an STEM education researcher.Dr. Melissa C Kenny, Wake Forest University Dr. Melissa C Kenny is an assistant teaching professor in the department of Engineering at Wake Forest University. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Transforming Engineering Education Through an Integrated Academic and Career Advising Model: A Theory-Informed Model for Educating the Whole Engineer at Wake Forest EngineeringABSTRACT - Higher education faces mounting criticism regarding cost, job preparation,curriculum
, 2025 From Barriers to Bridges: The GEES Program’s Impact on Low- Income Master’s Students’ Success and Professional DevelopmentIn the United States, innovation development and economic growth have been influenced bycontributions made by STEM professionals to a great extent. Universities aim to offerstudents in STEM programs career preparedness by imparting knowledge and necessarytraining in specialized skills. However, it should be acknowledged that not all students haveequal opportunities for the study of STEM. Students from low-income and underrepresentedbackgrounds often face additional challenges, which consequently limit their academicpursuits
during orientation week.• Students shared stories about their cultural heritage.• Open discussion on how cultural heritage shaped educational experiences.• Fostered a sense of community and belonging.CAREER READINESSHands-on projects and activities.Exploring different career paths.Developing professional skills.Connecting with industry professionals. EXAMPLE OF HANDS-ON PROJECTProject: Mock Business Activity: Industry Job Startup. Shadowing Day.Mock BusinessStartup ProjectOverview• Market Research: Analyzed industry trends, customer needs, and competition.• Business Strategy: Developed value proposition, target markets, and marketing plan.• Financial Planning: Created budgets, forecasted
mostimportant of which is gender discrimination. This gender discrimination appears in this disciplinein various aspects, such as the misrepresentation of women's role in society, cultural and socialrestrictions, political and legal restrictions, and a lack of access to educational resources, facilities,suitable job opportunities for women in engineering fields, and role models [15].Although measures have been taken to reduce the gender gap, one of the most important impactsin this regard is the creation of policies aimed at creating equal educational and career opportunitiesfor women in engineering. In addition, programs such as raising awareness and studies on theexisting gender gap, promoting women's roles in science and technology, and motivating
their education and career paths. Withinthe frame of this study, contextual factors refer to mentoring relationships with faculty. Theresearch team interviewed seven Latine STEM doctoral students individually to understand theirperceptions and experiences regarding doctoral mentoring and relationships. Data collectionoccurred between Fall 2018 and Spring 2021 in two historically white institutions (HWI) and ahistorically Black college and university (HBCU) in the southeastern region of the US as part ofa larger study. The interviews were analyzed using interpretative phenomenological analysis(IPA). IPA revealed three themes, describing Latine STEM doctoral students’ perceptionsaround (1) social-emotional needs in day-to-day interactions with
State University. Through her interdependent roles in research, teaching, and service, Jean is actively breaking down academic and social barriers to foster an environment where diverse and creative people are successful in the pursuit of engineering and computing degrees. Jean’s efforts have been recognized with numerous awards including the National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development award, the American Society for Engineering Education John A. Curtis Lecturer award, and the Bagley College of Engineering Service award. Jean earned her B.S. and M.S. in computer engineering from Mississippi State University, and her Ph.D. in engineering education from Virginia Tech
interdisciplinary research projects focused on institutional environments and STEM identity development are sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Kapor Center. In recent years, she was selected as an Early Career Awardee and Faculty Fellow with the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) and a NASPA Emerging Faculty Leader. She also received the Barbara Townsend Early Career Scholar Award by the Council for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC) and gave the distinguished ASHE-CAHEP Barbara Townsend Lecture. To learn more about her current projects, visit http://sarahlrodriguez.com/Antarjot Kaur, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Antarjot Kaur is currently a Ph.D
promoted to Associate Professor with tenure in 2020. Fullerton’s work has been recognized by an NSF CAREER award, an Alfred P. Sloan Fellowship, a Marion Milligan Mason award for women in the chemical sciences from AAAS, and a Ralph E. Powe Jr. Faculty Award from ORAU. For her teaching, Fullerton was awarded the 2018 James Pommersheim Award for Excellence in Teaching in Chemical Engineering at Pitt. For more information: http://fullertonlab.pitt.edu/ ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Piloting A Personalized Learning Model for Chemical Engineering Graduate Education – Lessons Learned from Creating a Chemical Engineering Body of KnowledgeApril Dukes | Mary Besterfield-Sacre
NSF CAREER grant and reallyinspired my own research which seeks to connect rural education andengineering education through a specific focus on partnership and engagement.So we’re coming to this paper from a lens informed by research and practice, andI’m also a rural student, so I’m excited I get to be here to talk to you all moreabout this today. 3 4 (HOLD FOR AUDIENCE ENGAGEMENT) What is rural? • Question 1: What most aligns with your current job/role? • Research, outreach and engagement, practice, policy
Tennessee-Knoxville. Dr. Affare served as a Project Engineer and Project Manager at Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) where she managed research and development projects for TVA’s Transmission Technologies and eventually became a Senior Compliance Analyst until retirement in July 2014. After retirement, Dr. Affare was a project management consultant in transportation and logistics for a few years until she began her second career in higher education. As an engineering professor, her research focuses on increasing the number of women in STEM with an emphasis in minorities in Engineering. Over the past 3 years at UTC, Dr. Affare has established the reputation as the go to person with respect to multidisciplinary and
. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Empowering Hispanic Engineering Students for Success in Graduate Education with Hybrid MentorshipAbstractStudents from underrepresented communities in STEM often face challenges of cultural biasesand systemic barriers that can hinder their academic and professional advancement. As thesestudents navigate their academic journey, mentorship is key to providing them with guidance,support, and a sense of belonging to overcome such hurdles. Faculty are often a source ofmentorship for setting academic and career goals, serving as a role model for attaining a career inSTEM, and finding research opportunities. However, they may not always have the bandwidth todirectly mentor
future. Her research focuses on underrepresented minority youth’s access to and persistence in STEM pathways. She holds a B.A. in Anthropology and Community Health and an M.S. in Occupational Therapy from Tufts University.Rachel E Durham Rachel E. Durham (PhD, Sociology & Demography, Pennsylvania State University) is an Associate Professor in the School of Education at Notre Dame of Maryland University, and a Senior Fellow with the Baltimore Education Research Consortium (BERC). With a background in sociology of education, education policy, and demography, her research focuses on graduates’ transition to adulthood, career and college readiness, community schools, and research-practice partnerships.Prof
. Her current research is aimed at investigating intersectional stigma and how it affects HIV-related outcomes in Tampa Bay by applying participatory qualitative methods. Dr. Gabbidon also teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in Psychology including Cultural Competence, Program Evaluation, and Health Psychology.Dr. Saundra Johnson Austin, University of South Florida Dr. Saundra Johnson Austin has dedicated her career to promoting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging of students and professionals in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education and careers. Her research is grounded in the effective implementation of STEM curricula in urban middle schools. Johnson Austin began her
disabilities, African Americans, Hispanics, American Indians, Alaska Natives and Pacific Islanders, first-generation college students, and veterans to participate in research and entrepreneurial activities at NSF SBIR/STTR Phase II companies. • To select and support entrepreneurially minded, early career STEM doctorates, across the range of NSF-defined disciplines, with additional, educational & research opportunities outside of the traditional academic setting, to further their careers, enhance diversity in SMB, and accelerate the U.S. national economy. • To catalyze the collaboration between early career, STEM doctoral degree holders from underserved backgrounds, and in high-tech, small business enterprises, through
as the Coordinator of Pre-College Programs at Virginia Tech’s Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity. She also worked as a global engagement specialist in the Office of Global Engineering Engagement and Research at Virginia T ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025Pre-college, Race/Ethnicity, Gender, EngineeringRevisiting Assessment Tools Used to Measure the Impact of Summer Program Interventions on Perceptions and Interest in Engineering Among Underrepresented Pre-College Students – A Work in ProgressAbstractStudents start their education in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)fields with the aim of having STEM-related careers. However, many
3. Plan a Take Action project that helps others.Specific STEM Activities and BadgesFacilitated DAISY ROLLER COASTER DESIGN CHALLENGE BADGE Grade Level – Kindergarten - 1st Badge Requirements ▪ Make a simple roller coaster car ▪ Build a model of a roller coaster ▪ Test your roller coaster One of Daisy Mechanical Engineering Design Challenge Badges ▪ Board Game Design Challenge ▪ Roller Coaster Design Challenge ▪ Model Car Design ChallengeSpecific STEM Activities and BadgesFacilitatedJunior Think Like A Daisy STEM Career Ambassador
/Latinostudents and professionals in STEM. SHPE’s efforts include measuring constructs such as STEMidentity and sense of belonging, which are crucial for understanding the factors that influenceretention and success in these fields. Previous research has highlighted the importance of theseconstructs in shaping academic and career outcomes (NSF, 2019). Recognizing the significanceof accurate and reliable measurements, SHPE has revised its methodology to include constructswith stronger internal consistency, as indicated by higher Cronbach alpha values in the 2023survey.Furthermore, longitudinal studies play a vital role in capturing changes over time, allowing for adeeper understanding of trends and the long-term impact of interventions. By comparing
Degree in Engineering Program. While in college he was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar which afforded him the opportunity to intern at NASA Langley. He also earned distinction as a Phi Beta Kappa member and an American Chemical Society Scholar. Dr. Henderson completed his Ph.D. in Chemical & Biomolecular Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. During his time as a graduate student, he was a NASA Harriet G. Jenkins Graduate Fellow. Dr. Henderson has dedicated his career to increasing the number of students who are on pathways to pursue STEM careers. He believes that exposing students to STEM early will have a lasting impact on their lives and academic pursuits. He is the co-founder of the St. Elmo
the teachers identified abouteffective professional development opportunities by having tangible takeaways. We’ll go intomore detail about some of the specific sessions next.To meet the teachers’ needs of engineering career pathways and gaining an understanding ofthe resources available to students at Virginia Tech, we provided three specific sessions thataddressed these needs. An industry panel of 4 engineering professionals who work in theSouthwest Virginia region came to speak to the teachers about their careers, offered advice onhow to prepare students for the engineering workforce, and answered any possible questionsthe teachers had about the engineering industry generally and in the region specifically.Teachers also participated in
recognitioncommensurate with such achievements and contributions [1], [2]. However, this belief is oftenoverly idealized and may not always reflect the complexities of reality, as it fails to fully accountfor the barriers, biases, and inequalities that impact who succeeds and how recognition isdistributed. [3], [4], [5]. For many, in particular women and underrepresented and minoritized(URM) students, the STEM space—the early stages of pursuing an engineering degree or later intheir professional careers—frequently experience overt sexism, gender bias, racism,discrimination, stereotyping, and isolation [4], [6], [7].National concern and acknowledgment of barriers faced by women in STEM is longstanding andwell-documented [1], [3], [8], [9]. According to the
torefine the planned activities and the SMART goals and planned measurement of theoutcomes of those activities.The project supports students pursuing careers in STEM, helps develop facultyskills/knowledge and supports some pre-college education activities. The new granthas an increased focus on broadening participation and has a new requirement forexternal evaluation. Historically, 50% of student funding is awarded to marginalizedstudents in STEM. Starting in 2024 the program began to increase the percentage ofmarginalized student recipients and alongside funding will incorporate cohortprograms that honor students’ cultural, racial, and ethnic identities. The presentationwill discuss the motivations for the changes as well as some of the outcomes
Events (Paint n Sip, Therapy Dogs, BINGO night, and Table Talk Slime Night) - Career Fair Prep Workshop - Affinity Networking Reception for Career Fair Spring 2024, WIT events became more popular and better-attended with direct student-led programming. The E-Board coordinated and executed the following social events paired with General Meetings: Professional Development Workshop with Society of Professional Hispanic Engineers (SHPE) Unconventional Game Night Social Event with Queer in STEM (qSTEM) Trivia Night Social Event with Computing Organization for Multicultural Students (COMS) 4 Additional Social Events (Paint n Sip, Therapy Dogs, BINGO night, and Table Talk Slime Night) Career Fair Prep Workshop Affinity Networking Reception for
College of Education and the University of Michigan’s Marsal Family School of Education. His research focuses on college education issues associated with racially minoritized students. ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025Fostering Tomorrow's STEM Entrepreneurs: Insights from an Innovative STEM Program Promoting Equity-Centered EntrepreneurshipABSTRACT:The representation of Black students in STEM entrepreneurship remains disproportionately low,with only 2% of Black recipients of science and engineering PhDs in 2017 pursuingentrepreneurial careers. This disparity is compounded by systemic barriers faced by entrepreneursof color, including limited access to entrepreneurship
underrepresented students in STEM. Through aphased research study of STEM transfer students, researchers discovered that women incommunity college who declared a major in engineering or computer science were much morelikely than men to switch out of those majors. In addition, community college students wereless likely than their university counterparts to belong to professional societies, which offerexposure to academic and professional networks, mentors, and career opportunities. Toaddress this, the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) created programming in 2022 to increasecommunity college women’s membership and support their engagement in societal activities.The program reduces financial barriers with free memberships and stipends for communitycollege
members, and introduced the NSFADVANCE award initiatives and determined main concerns raised by faculty which determinedtopics that were discussed in Facilitated Peer Mentor Circles. The Facilitated Peer MentorCircles program was an adaptation from other universities (Gilfoyle et al., 2011; Thomas et al.,2015; Li et al., 2023). A novel adaptation was the hiring of a Faculty Development Coordinator(FDC) to facilitate all circles to: (1) Top-down support and commitment for continuity; (2)Creating psychological safety through respect for everyone and confidentiality; (3)Responsiveness to individual career needs/paths; (4) Seeking input to tailor offerings for success;and (5) Collecting feedback/offering aggregated, bottoms-up input to
validation, ultimately influencing their progress towardgraduation and career choices (Bryson & Housh, 2023; Santa-Ramirez, 2022; Wilkins-Yel et al.,2022). Altogether, the vast and lasting effect of faculty advising on their graduate students'overall educational experience and success suggests that it is an area where servingness might beboth cultivated and prioritized at HSIs.While the focus on measurable performance outcomes such as persistence and graduation ratesare both relevant and informative, other non-academic dimensions of the graduate studentexperience also deserve attention. Master’s and Doctoral students’ non-academic outcomes, suchas their sense of belonging in their institution or discipline, have also been shown to beresponsive
and engineering degrees for Hispanic of Latino recipients, with Black orAfrican American doctoral recipients at 6.6%, and Native American or Alaska Native at .4% [5].Graduate Education Self-EfficacyChemers and colleagues find science self-efficacy and identification as a scientist to be strongindicators of commitment to a career in science [6]. The motivation for the article is derivedfrom the lack of diversity and inclusion in United States science education. Using a statisticalanalysis approach, the authors identify program components associated with underlyingpsychology that propel undergraduates to a commitment to scientific careers. The authorsacknowledge that previous studies found “...academic self-efficacy was a strong and
students feel ‘passionately’ about [23], [24]. Further, members ofunderrepresented groups have bigger increases in their interest in research than their non-underrepresented counterparts after taking such courses, which suggests that emphasizing theapplied sides of SDS may help with expanding participation in the field [23].In the current study, we expand upon this previous work on how students become interested inpursuing careers in SDS by investigating what drew SDS majors and minors to choose thiscourse of study over other possibilities. We present descriptive and qualitative results frominterviews with a group of academically talented students majoring or minoring in SDS and whohave low incomes. Based on these results and relevant literature