A new student support 程序 offering scholarship opportunities is encouraging Washtenaw Community College students to pursue four-year degrees in science, technology, engineering 和数学(阀杆).
桑迪麦卡锡, a librarian at Washtenaw Community College’s Bailey 图书馆, helps 阀杆学者计划 participants (from left) Emijoel Lantigua, Araba Gyan and Michael Cooke with a task during one of the 程序’s summer intensive sessions. |摄影by 凯利Gampel
的 阀杆学者计划 opens doors for internships, research opportunities and mentoring support, among other benefits, increasing the likelihood of participants getting into a 阀杆 程序 at nearby universities, according to Susan Dentel, the coordinator of the 十大彩票网赌平台 阀杆 程序.
“的 阀杆学者计划 truly supports students and helps to facilitate their success at both 十大彩票网赌平台 and the university,” said Dentel, a 十大彩票网赌平台 life sciences faculty member.
(视频: 认识一些阀杆学者项目的学生)
的 程序 will officially kick off its first year in the fall semester, but the first cohort of 26 students was on campus for a summer intensive portion, learning 社交和学术技能. 这些学生年龄在17岁到39岁之间，正在学习 engineering, physics, biochemistry and informational science.
Scholarships range in amounts up to the total cost of attending 十大彩票网赌平台, Dental noted. 该计划的部分资金来自 National Science Foundation’s multi-million dollar LSAMP and S-阀杆 grants.
根据《十大彩票网赌平台》 & 统计信息管理在美国，阀杆职业预计将增长8%.到2020年达到9%，而现在是6%.4% 非stem职业的增长. 同样的数据显示，阀杆工作者的收入约为 比非stem学生高出29%.
Alicia Schmidt maps out her dreams and goals during a summer session meeting of Washtenaw 社区学院首届阀杆学者项目.
Scholar Ambyr Cook, 30, has several years of building administration and facilities 她简历上的管理职位. 她喜欢这个行业，但最终感到了变化 需要.
“(的 jobs were) something I just wasn’t passionate about,” Cooke noted. ”,然后 我为此祈祷了一下. 我应该怎么做? 我从没想过上大学 因为我不感兴趣的事.”
的 turning point for the Lincoln Park resident was when she created a website for 一个朋友，感到“热情”.库克决定从事计算机科学方面的职业 with a focus on Java 程序ming and, after reviewing multiple schools that offer 2015年秋天，她进入了十大彩票网赌平台.
对库克来说，创建网站并不是什么新鲜事. 在一个治安不佳的社区长大 她回忆说，她经常在室内看电脑. 她自学了HTML脚本 and coding, and made websites that revolved around her interests like photography, 动漫与绘画.
Cook has set her eyes on doing an internship where she can build websites – possibly for non-profits – after graduating from Washtenaw Community College. 她设想 有一天她会经营自己的生意. 阀杆学者项目正在帮助她达到这个目标 这些梦想.
Many of the scholars learned about the 程序, like Cook, via an email blast.
但艾丽西娅·施密特找到了另一种方法.
的 2018 Ypsilanti high school graduate was one of the 300 people attending Washtenaw 11月社区学院的校园探索活动. 她参加了动手环节 for creating edible DNA strains, which Dentel was assisting with.
的y struck up a conversation during the “Have Your DNA and Eat It Too!“会话, which ended in Dentel handing Schmidt a brochure and encouraging the recent graduate 来看看阀杆学者项目提供了什么.
的 程序 so far has helped her narrow down her career options.
“我一直 been a problem solver,” the Ypsilanti resident explained. “我一直 kind of looked at things and asked, ‘How can I improve this; how can I take this apart 再把它们拼回去.“我在工程和外科之间进退两难.”
Admittedly not a mathematics whiz – a trait she initially believed all engineers needed to excel in –, Schmidt said the scholars 程序, “encouraged me to come out of my 然后说‘我能做到’. 如果我想，我可以成为一名工程师.’”
的 阀杆 Scholar Program has also been a huge boost for Emijoel Lantigua as he’s overcoming 努力完成学业.
“I just feel that there are more people on my back supporting me,” the Albany, New 约克本地人解释. “With this 程序, you actually have people with the same goals trying to take the same steps – if not steps that are aside or similar – that are pushing you to be great … (the cohort) is really accepting and that’s new to me, 来自我的家乡.”
的 current Ypsilanti resident started taking classes at 十大彩票网赌平台 in 2014. 他现在准备好了 his sights on an electrical engineering degree with a minor in sound engineering.
的 consensus among the students is clear: 的 阀杆学者计划 lays the foundation for building their network, and improving study tactics and life skills, but also 创建一个社区.
“的 community college environment can be sporadic because of commuting and schedules, and their effect on social interactions and building community. 这个程序将 help students have a ‘home group’ on campus,” Dentel explained.
Additionally, because the cohort has students in “cousin” areas of discipline, like natural and physical sciences, and engineering and computer/information sciences, the 程序 allows for the students to work with one another – a task that will likely be required of them in future academic 程序s and careers.
的 long-term vision for the grant-funded 程序 is to be self-sustainable and continue 丹特尔说，在未来很长一段时间内都是如此. 该奖项允许该项目运行 至少五年.
2019年队列的申请可在 evanlycreations.com/stemscholars.