Did you want to attend college, but were never pushed to go? Perhaps you felt no one was focused on your future? That won’t be the case for future generations of West Virginia students as one program makes moves to secure the futures of students interested in science, technology, engineering and mathematics fields.
Challenging America, Re-engineering National Education Gains Including fresh Epistemologies – Holistic Approaches to Learning and Leadership (CARNEGIE HALL) is a program aimed at underrepresented high schools students who might not have been encouraged to go pursue the idea of going to college. This program nurtures those ideas and exposes students to STEM areas and researchers. Those who participate in the program are asked to attend a weeklong camp in the summer where they learn about STEM and a variety of leadership skills.
The program, which was held June 26th – July 1st at Transylvania University in Lexington, KY, allowed students to learn the value of teamwork and the importance of leadership and public speaking. The purpose of the weeklong program was to introduce underrepresented students to STEM and to nurture the next generation of leaders. Ultimately, the program would like to increase the number of underrepresented students who attend college and graduate with STEM degrees.
“There seems to be a disconnect between the students who are interested in these fields and who are encouraged to or who can actually attend college,” said David Miller, program liaison and assistant professor of mathematics at West Virginia University. “As we look to the future these underrepresented youth will be relied on more and more as the demographic breakdown of America changes. We need them to be educated in the STEM fields so that we can continue to fill STEM positions in both industry and academia.”
Overall, 48 students attended the camp this year; six from West Virginia. The program is free to all those asked to participate, and to offset these costs the students from West Virginia had their fees paid by a $14,000 grant given by the WV Higher Education Policy Commission: Division of Science and Research. This grant paid for the students’ transportation, room and board, food and other program materials.
“We were happy with the turnout this year, but we hope to increase the number of students we have from West Virginia. Therefore we will have to find ways to increase our funding,” Miller said. “We’re really excited to be able to continue to work with these students during high school and even after they go on to college. We really want to see them succeed.”
The next CARNEGIE HALL summer camp will be held in June 2012, at West Virginia University.
For more information, contact David Miller at David.Miller@mail.wvu.edu.
-WVU-
jl/8/16/11
CONTACT: Rebecca Herod, Eberly College Director of Marketing and Communication
304.293.7405, ext. 5251; Rebecca.Herod@mail.wvu.edu.
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