MemphiSTEM Scholars Program
The MemphiSTEM Scholars program supports academically talented engineering students with demonstrated financial need through a scholarship program supported by the National Science Foundation. The program provides academic, social, professional and peer networking, career preparation, in addition to scholarship to increase retention and graduation of engineering majors. The program also provides scholars with the opportunity to serve as STEM Ambassadors with the West TN STEM Hub. As a STEM Ambassador, scholars will be involved in a K-12 focused outreach initiative that enhances their leadership, communication, and disciplinary growth while inspiring K-12 students to consider STEM majors and careers.
Project Goals:
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Increase retention, academic success, and graduation rates of academically talented undergraduate engineering majors with demonstrated financial need
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Implement activities and strategies with the S-STEM scholars that enhance student academic success, overall development of STEM identity, and workforce preparation and readiness
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Conduct research to better understand how engineering students develop STEM identity, how this identity influences self-efficacy, academic success, and career trajectory, and how the various support structures (particularly the STEM Ambassador outreach program) in this project contribute to this development
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Conduct formative and summative evaluations that explore the extent to which each objective is being met and guide development of an effective and translatable model.
Partial support for this work was provided by the National Science Foundation Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S STEM) program under Award No. 2424742. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.