APRIL MARCHETTI
Caminos a la Ciencia - Pathways to Science
1649289
Pathways to Science is a program for female Hispanic high school students who show promise and interest in STEM disciplines. A summer residential program, year-long cohort and family activities, and scholarship funding for college aim to prepare these students to enroll and persist in undergraduate education, ultimately preparing them for leadership in the STEM workforce.
Learn more at www.pathwaystoscience.com!
Resource:
Caminos a la Ciencia - Pathways to Science
1649289
Pathways to Science is a program for female Hispanic high school students who show promise and interest in STEM disciplines. A summer residential program, year-long cohort and family activities, and scholarship funding for college aim to prepare these students to enroll and persist in undergraduate education, ultimately preparing them for leadership in the STEM workforce.
Learn more at www.pathwaystoscience.com!
April Marchetti
Thanks so much to everyone who views our video! I am April Marchetti, PI for this project and Director of the Pathways to Science program, and I'd be happy to answer any questions you might have about our program. I look forward to hearing from you!
Karen Peterson
Chief Executive Officer
Hi April. Can you provide more information about the use of role models in your project? It was wonderful to hear their voices on the video, and I'm wondering what you see as the goals for having them involved?
April Marchetti
The girls will visit all of our partner institutions during the residential program, where they will interact with successful female Hispanic STEM professionals. In addition, we will be bringing mentors to campus each evening to share a meal with the girls. Finally, near the end of the program our participants will participate in a half-day "shadow a scientist" program, where they will shadow a female STEM professional in her workplace to learn more about what the day-to-day activities of a scientist are like. We're hoping that through these interactions we can help the girls develop a clear picture of what it's like to be in the STEM workforce.
Barbara Rogoff
UCSC Foundation Distinguished Professor of Psychology
Good luck with your project! I wonder how the program is connecting with the girls' own interests -- or do all the girls follow the same program in the residential stay?
April Marchetti
Hi Barbara,
Thanks for your question! The girls will be given an introduction to all of the STEM areas in the first summer, but as they progress through the program they will have the opportunity to choose the areas that interest them most and "specialize" in those areas. The program culminates in the third summer (the summer after their junior year of high school) with the students completing a research project in the area that interests them the most, with the hope of helping them determine what area they'd like to pursue in college.
Barbara Rogoff
UCSC Foundation Distinguished Professor of Psychology
Thanks for the reply. In the first summer, will the introduction to all of the STEM areas be like didactic classwork? Or more tailored to the students' curiosity and goals, such as with projects?
April Marchetti
We will have no classwork in our summer program - all of our activities are hands-on and designed to get the girls excited about STEM enquiry. For example, students will take fingerprints, analyze ink samples, and investigate a mock crime scene in our forensics exploration, and our astronomy unit will involve stargazing and a film. We're hoping to keep it fun and quick-moving!
Barbara Rogoff
UCSC Foundation Distinguished Professor of Psychology
Cool! Thanks for the info.
Leslie Goodyear
Principal Research Scientist
Thanks for sharing the vision for your project! Is there a particular STEM discipline or disciplines that you'll be focusing on with the summer program? The video shows a couple of different possibilities, but I'd love to know more.
April Marchetti
Hi Leslie,
Our first-summer experiences will focus on forensic science, robotics, dentistry, botany (plant conservation), astronomy, and fish ecology. Each experience lasts 2-3 hours and is hands-on; for example, the dentistry component involves a visit to a local dental school, where our participants will learn how to make dental impressions (that they'll be able to take home) and participate in a roundtable discussion on careers in dentistry.
We intend to change up the experiences in years 2 and 3 and allow the girls some choice, since by then they will have identified the STEM areas which interest them the most.
Marjorie Zatz
Looks great-- will look forward to hearing more!
Carin Helfer
I love that the program is not only a summer experience but follows with year-long family activities! What type of activities are planned and how do you plan to get the families engaged to participate?
April Marchetti
We will have monthly activities at each of our partner institutions- we've partnered with the Science Museum of Virginia, Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, CodeVA (which holds coding classes for youth in Central Virginia), Maymont Conservancy, WestRock Corporation, and Dominion Virginia Power. The activities will be different each month and might consist of behind-the-scenes tours, films, brief activities, a meal, or special times when these facilities are only open to our participants.
We are requiring that our participants attend at least half of the year's activities in order to remain active in the program and eligible for scholarship money. We hope that families will attend more than the required number of activities, so we're working hard to make them very engaging and fun!
Further posting is closed as the event has ended.