Our Northwest Vista College students, accompanied by Dr. Mary Zocchi (Math), Dr. Thomas Pressly (Engineering), and Mark Jurena (Engineering) completed their Kick Off meeting for fall 2022 at St. Mary’s University on Sept. 23.
The students first completed a mentoring and student feedback session with Drs. Juan Ocampo and Rick Sperling. Then, the NVC students toured the St. Mary’s Biology and Forensics Laboratories including the state of the art anatomy table and a biology dissection in progress.
Nicole Webb assisted the students in flying drones around an obstacle course in the St. Mary’s Drone Lab. The students learned that they are much better Drone pilots than the NVC faculty!
If you are a highly motivated STEM major at NVC, we hope that you will apply to participate in this exciting program. Throughout the year, we gather on both the NVC and St. Mary’s campuses for faculty mentoring (from both sets of faculty) and peer interaction. During the summer, FUERTE funding provides for a paid internship for the students in the cohort. The early career relevant internship helps students connect with their career, expand their network, and gain valuable career experience while earning $20 an hour.
With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF) Improving Undergraduate STEM Education: Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI Program), this Track 2: Implementation and Evaluation Project will increase the number of Latinx students who obtain bachelor’s degrees in STEM fields, including both those who enter St. Mary’s University as first-time freshmen and those who transfer from Northwest Vista College.
Photo: left to right – NVC students Linda Barajas, Dr. Juan O’Campo (StMU), Anna Marie Wojnar, Megan Davis, Victor Robles, Jr, Juan Garza, Jr.
