Louisiana State University Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics Scholars Program [LA-STEM]

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With this award, Connie Stelly, Saundra McGuire, Su-Seng Pang, Gregory Vincent, and Isiah Warner of LSU will lead the establishment of the Louisiana State University Research Scholars Program (LA-STEM). LA-STEM is a strategically planned, cooperative, comprehensive activity that will put in place at LSU a system that will increase the numbers of minority students - primarily African Americans - who obtain undergraduate degrees in science, engineering, and mathematics, and who go on to graduate degrees in these fields. The LA-STEM strategy is to (1) identify pre-college (high school) students with high potential for achievement and recruit them for the program; (2) facilitate the development of these students' necessary skills and competencies in addition to their undergraduate education in a STEM discipline that will (3) prepare these students to go on to earn graduate degrees in their STEM disciplines. Modeled after the widely-acclaimed University of Maryland - Baltimore County 'Meyerhoff Scholars Program,' LA-STEM is projected to reach ~ 115 students in the initial five-year period of the activity through a disciplined combination of 'innovative intervention activities' including:A Summer Bridge Program prior to the freshman fall semester;Association with a faculty mentor upon acceptance into the program;Peer advising and counseling along with academic program advising and counseling;Monthly social and informational sessions; A sustained On-Campus Academic Year Internship/Research Experience beginning the fall semester of the freshman year;Intensive On- and Off-Campus Summer Internships/Research Experiences;Professional Conference Participations and Presentations;Tutoring and Workshops for instruction in essential skills for academic and personal success;Communication Skills Instruction that will help to develop a positive self-concept and increased self-confidence;Instruction in applying Study Skills and Personal Skills for the successful completion of the undergraduate program;Coaching for the successful Admittance to Graduate Programs across the country through Graduate Preparation Workshops (application and interview process, test preparation, etc.); and Career Planning Workshops.It is expected that outcomes of the LA-STEM project will guide further diversification of undergraduate STEM majors.