programs and services for the Hispanic STEM community.Andrea D. Beattie, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Inc. Andrea D. Beattie is a graduate from Texas A&M International University in Laredo, Texas, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in Political Science in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Currently she serves as Manager, Research and Impact at SHPE. In this role, she assists the organization with research, program evaluation, and data analytics.Dr. Kimberly D Douglas P.E., Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, Inc. Over 25 years of experience as an engineering educator and administrator developing and funding programs for increasing the persistence and degree completion rates of STEM
Community Member First, Researcher Second: Tensions in Authentic Engineering Education Outreach (WIP) Yuliana Flores, University of Washington Dr. Jennifer A. Turns, University of WashingtonAbstract Community engagement and outreach in engineering education can create tensions forresearchers who are also community members, particularly when navigating dual identities andresponsibilities. This paper examines the complexities of community engagement through anautoethnographic study of a high school engineering outreach project on usability testing. Theproject, which began from personal curiosity and later connected to doctoral research, illustrateshow community
community leader * Certified John Maxwell leadership coach and speakerProf. Scott J. Tippens, Kennesaw State University I am a full professor at Southern Polytechnic State University and I am the founding director of the Alternative Energy Innovation Center at SPSU. I’ve been teaching in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology department for approximately 17 ye ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025Engineering Student Retention: Integrating Corporate Onboarding Practices with Social Identity and Self-Determination TheoriesAbstractRetention in engineering disciplines remains a persistent challenge for higher education. Thisstudy explores a novel approach inspired by corporate
Paper ID #49489A Literature Review of Transdisciplinarity in Engineering EducationShuyu Wang, The Ohio State University Shuyu Wang is a Ph.D. student in the Department of engineering education at the Ohio state university. Currently, she is a graduate research associate in an NSF-funded project aiming to train students to become wicked scientists through transdisciplinary approaches. Shuyu is also a member of the Research on Identity and Motivation in Engineering research group, led by Dr. Rachel L. Kajfez, focusing on studying the intersection between motivation and identity to improve engineering students’ success.Dr
Paper ID #49551NeuralStorm: Training Graduate Students to Take Neuroengineering by StormDr. Xianglong Wang, University of California, Davis Dr. Xianglong Wang is an Assistant Professor of Teaching in Biomedical Engineering (BME) at the University of California, Davis, and the program coordinator of the BME Quarter at Aggie Square clinical immersion program. Dr. Wang leads the cube3 lab, an engineering educational lab focused on community building and pedagogical innovations in BME. As a steering committee member, he helps shape the educational programs offered by the Center of Neuroengineering and Medicine at UC Davis
Paper ID #45279Research- and Practice-Informed Insights for Recognizing Rurality in EngineeringEducationDr. Malle R Schilling, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Dr. Malle Schilling is an assistant professor in the Engineering Education Systems and Design program at Arizona State University. Malle’s primary research interests lie at the intersection of rural education and engineering education, largely informed by her own experiences as a rural student who pursued engineering, and community engagement to address wicked problems through collaboration and systems thinking.Dr. Jacob R Grohs, Virginia
engineer in the food industry for over 10 years. Narjes’ research and activism focuses on women in the Middle East. Particularly, she is focused on how resources, culture, and gendered norms impact their engineering identity development.Dr. Justin Charles Major, Rowan University Dr. Justin C. Major (they/them) is an Assistant Professor of Experiential Engineering Education at Rowan University where they leads ASPIRE Lab (Advancing Student Pathways through Inequality Research in Engineering). Justin’s research focuses on low-income students, engineering belonging and marginalization mechanisms, adverse childhood experiences, and feminist approaches to EER, and connects these topics to broader understandings of student
Paper ID #45777Pilot Strategy to Enhance Mechanical Engineering Student Retention ThroughActive Academic Advising and Early EngagementJuEun Lee, Humboldt State UniversityDr. Joshua Paul Steimel, Humboldt State University ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Pilot Strategy to Enhance Mechanical Engineering Student Retention Through Active Academic Advising and Early EngagementAbstract:Student retention and recruitment represent persistent challenges in mechanical engineeringeducation. Retention is closely linked to the appropriate placement of students in foundationalfirst-year courses such as mathematics
relevance, and advising effectiveness. While engineering education has long beenurged to reform, transformation is possible. In this paper, we share the story of launching WakeForest Engineering and the student-centered practices and strategies that enabled us to rethinkacademic and career advising. Wake Forest Engineering presents a comprehensive model andapproach to integrating academic and career advising towards student success. The model isinformed by three theoretical frameworks - self-determination theory, identity theory, and socialcognitive career theory - to support holistic student development. Starting with entrance surveysto understand student aspirations, continuing with annual assessments, and embedding advisingwithin the curriculum
Paper ID #45181Fostering an Inclusive Community Among Electrical Engineering Studentswith Mixed-Reality Technologies at a Hispanic-Serving InstitutionPreeti De Maurya, New Mexico State UniversityHilda Cecilia Contreras Aguirre, New Mexico State University Hilda Cecilia Contreras Aguirre received an Ed.D. degree in Higher Education Leadership from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC), and an M.Sc. from the University of Technology of Compi`egne, France. She is now a researcher at New Mexico State University (NMSU). She focuses her research on qualitative studies addressing minority and underrepresented student
experiences of Black engineering students inengineering programs: the importance of having a shared identity with one’s peer mentor and theavailability of informal community spaces [35].Shared identities between mentors and mentees play a critical role in the success of minoritized students.When mentors share similar backgrounds and experiences with their mentees, it fosters a sense ofunderstanding and relatability. This shared identity helps build trust and rapport, making mentees feelmore comfortable and supported. For Black engineering students, having mentors who understand theirunique challenges and experiences can be particularly empowering. These mentors can provide not onlyacademic guidance but also emotional support, helping mentees navigate
Hatcher, M. “Examining the impact of four teaching development programmes for engineering teaching assistants.” J. of Further and Higher Ed., 2017. https://doi.org/10.1080/0309877X.2017.1361517[6] Olarte, T. R., Swartz, M., and Roberts, S. A. “Mathematics graduate students’ teacher identity development: Examining roles within the teaching assistant position.” J. of Research in Sci., Math. and Tech. Ed., vol. 7, issue SI, pp. 117-139, 2024. https://doi.org/10.31756/jrsmte.316SI[7] Gardner, G. and Jones, M. G. “Pedagogical preparation of the science graduate teaching assistant: Challenges and implications.” Sci. Educator, vol. 20, no. 2, pp. 31-41, 2011.[8] Borrelli, D. and Masten, S. “Empowering
the collegiate setting,building their STEM identities through meeting and interacting with future professors and peers thatmay have similar career goals, allowing them to effectively create and integrate into a supportive Proceedings of the 2025 ASEE Gulf-Southwest Annual Conference The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX Copyright 2025, American Society for Engineering Education 2community system have shown that participants in these programs are twice as likely to persist andsucceed in STEM degree programs. During these programs, students are given the resources tobegin to learn how to successfully
, theresa@creus.com jjhu@bridgeport.edu, abhilash@bridgeport.edu, aelsayed@bridgeport.edu Abstract—The University of Bridgeport (UB) received Achieve) is an NSF IUSE: HSI project funded under thefunding from the National Science Foundation's Division of Planning or Pilot Projects (PPP) track for the purposes ofUndergraduate Education through its IUSE: HSI Initiative in thesummer of 2022 to increase retention, persistence, preparedness, planning a process for building capacity and enhancingand graduation rates of students majoring in Computer, undergraduate STEM education at less-resourced institutionsElectrical, Mechanical Engineering, and Computer Science (CS) as a means of increasing
. Ashleigh Wright, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Ashleigh R. Wright, PhD is the Associate Director of the Institute for Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access and Assistant Teaching Professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at the Grainger College of Engineering. She is responsible for collaborating with college and departmental leaders and stakeholders to identify needs and priorities, developing and implementing evidence-based strategies, and measuring progress and effectiveness quantitatively against key metrics that promote diversity, equity, inclusion, and access to the undergraduate and graduate student communities. She also conducts research that analyzes trends, driving factors
, and working on communication skills [24],[25].As research discussed that undergraduate researchers could engage in their lived experiences formore authentic interpretations of data, we engaged our lived experiences, especially bothundergraduate researchers, through the writing of positionality statements. Positionalitystatements have been a growing phenomenon in engineering education research as part of theefforts to uncover researchers’ preconceived notions that can shape how they conduct theirresearch [26]. By reflecting on their positionalities, Alshanti and Thu as undergraduateresearchers engage their lived experiences as engineering students to interpret instructors’ beliefsand behaviors on test usage. This becomes the foundation of this
-Colon is an Engineering Education Research PhD student at the University of Michigan. He holds a MS and BS in Industrial Engineering from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez.Musabbiha ZaheerDr. Cynthia J. Finelli, University of Michigan Dr. Cynthia J. Finelli is the David J. Munson, Jr. Professor of Engineering, a professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, a professor of Education, and and Director and Graduate Chair of Engineering Education Research at University of Michigan In her research she focuses on increasing faculty adoption of evidence-based instruction, identifying ways to better support students with neurodiversities, and promoting students” sense of social responsibility through
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
Paper ID #45190Evaluating the five pillars of a Summer Bridge Program and their influenceon participants’ intentions to complete an engineering degree.Lorena Benavides-Riano, Mississippi State University Lorena Benavides-Riano, originally from Colombia, is a second-year Engineering Ph.D. student at Mississippi State University. In July 2020, she completed her bachelor’s degree in Environmental Engineering at the National University of Colombia. After graduation, Lorena worked as a research assistant investigating the effects of development projects on environmental parameters and rural communities in Colombia, South
Minnesota, Dulut ©American Society for Engineering Education, 2025 Experiences in Piloting a Program for Implementing High Impact Practices with Limited ResourcesAbstractIt is known that low-income, first-generation, and underrepresented students in engineering andcomputer science have rates of retention and graduation that lag behind their peers. A growingbody of research has identified a range of high-impact practices and exemplar programs thathave been successful in improving outcomes for these at-risk populations. Some areas that thesepractices seek to address include: financial need, academic preparation, sense of community,confidence, and professional identity. The challenge of
academia, research, and socialization [2], [3].While significant strides have been made in supporting students to unlock hidden potential andachieve success as a graduate student, there is still work to be done. Bridge programs haveproven to be fruitful in propelling participants toward academic and professional success, yetthere remain unreached scholars seeking opportunity to take the next step.The Center for the Enhancement of Engineering Diversity (CEED) at Virginia Tech (VT CEED)offers many programs that support engineering students at every stage of higher education: pre-college, undergraduate, and graduate. Having studied the success of the McNair Scholarsprogram, VT CEED have used the McNair Scholars program as a framework to develop
Paper ID #45274Pathways into Statistics and Data Science for Academically Talented UndergraduateStudents with Low IncomesDr. Erin Carll, University of Washington Erin Carll is the associate director at the University of Washington Center for Evaluation and Research for STEM Equity (CERSE). Her evaluation and research focus on efforts to expand equity and inclusion in the STEM fields, including through community building and leveraging existing assets. She currently serves on the Women in Engineering ProActive Network (WEPAN) Board of Directors and the Society for Women Engineers Research Advisory Council. Erin has