UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.—The completion of the 2015 Upward Bound Math and Science (UBMS) program’s Summer STEM Academy marks the 17th year of UBMS’s partnership with faculty in STEM fields at Penn State.
This year’s summer program brought 36 ninth- through 11th-graders from Pennsylvania high schools in Harrisburg, ASPIRA Olney Charter School in Philadelphia, Reading, and Woodland Hills High Schools to Penn State to participate in a six-week intensive residential program designed to increase their interest and aptitude in STEM professions. Under the direction of Angela Miller, the program was held June 13 to July 24.
Collaborating with faculty from various STEM fields at the university, students were assigned to 16 research teams sponsored by the College of Agricultural Sciences Summer Experience (CASSE), the Summer Experience in the Eberly College of Science(SEECoS), and the Summer Experience in Earth and Mineral Sciences (SEEMS). These faculty and mentors shared time and research facilities to help students complete coursework in math, science, research writing, computer skills, public speaking and library science, as well as a mentored research project.
The recently published executive summary noted that over 92 percent of the participants were from low-income families, and over 91 percent would be the first in their family to attend and graduate from higher education.
Students, as well as their mentors, enjoyed the opportunity, citing small, polite and engaged classes and great opportunities to learn about their potential fields of study as positives.
Other partnerships with the Earth and Space Science Partnership, the Bayer USA Foundation, the College of Education, and the Ronald E. McNair Scholars Program contributed to make the program possible.
For more information on the Upward Bound Math and Science Program, visit equity.psu.edu/ubms.