Updates Overview

Summer Invention Institutes: 

• Sign up for a Summer Institute near you using this form.

  • Klamath Falls (OIT-K) - Friday, October 2nd 10am-2:30pm

    • Oregon Institute of Technology (3201 Campus Dr, Klamath Falls, OR 97601)

  • Lane County (CLC) - Sunday, October 4th from 9am-4pm

    • Spark at Booth Kelly (303 S 5th St St. 150, Springfield, OR 97477) 

• Need a refresher? Review the Summer Invention Institute slides: FY27 PDX 1-Day Summer Invention Institute

Student Enrollment Forms: 

• • • • • English: https://form.jotform.com/262006570086150

          • MESA Hard Copy Student Enrollment Form

        • Spanish: https://form.jotform.com/262186678530162 

          • SPN MESA Hard Copy Student Enrollment Form

A note on enrollment forms: In an effort to simplify the enrollment process, we have created enrollment forms that students can complete and submit themselves during your MESA chapter meeting as their initial way of signing up for MESA. 

Once your student has submitted their sign up form, provide them with a Family Welcome Packet to take home to their families. This welcome packet has a link for parents/guardians to complete the mandatory enrollment process. Students cannot attend any offsite MESA activities (MESA Day, college visits, etc) without a completed parent form. 

2026-2027 Pacing Guide

• The MESA Pacing Guide is a comprehensive roadmap of MESA lessons organized throughout the program year. It includes links to lesson slides, activities, and resources so you can easily plan and lead MESA at your chapter. Please inform Jonas at jhudnall@pdx.edu if you encounter any issues with the Pacing Guide.

Events Calendar

• If you have not already, subscribe to the FY27 Advisor Calendar to track dates digitally and print our FY27 MESA Calendar for your classroom! 

Chapter Meeting Times

• please don’t forget to email your regional coordinator with the day and time of your weekly MESA chapter meeting. 

Websites to Know 

• MyMESA: Coding resources have been updated on both MyMESA and MESA Everyday (YouTube tutorial links, documents, project ideas and more!)

  1. 1. • TinkerCAD

        • Microbit

        • Arduino

        • RaspberryPi

• MESA Everyday: Significant updates to these pages:

  • 1. • College

       • Career

       • Alumni

       • Events

• There’s also a helpful College and Career Activities Doc 

  • 1. • Resources,

       • Activities,

       • quick fact sheets (check out pg. 8!)

       • and more available in the Pacing Guide towards the bottom for weeks 17-21

Student Recruitment

• We are here to help you with student recruitment. We can table at local back to school nights, community events, and club fairs. Let us know the dates of these events through this quick form and we will do our best to be there.

• Recruitment video that should be perfect to show your students and share on social media to spread the word about MESA

• Student recruitment materials

Advisor Deadlines

• 10/9/2026 - Submit personnel form

• 11/16/2026 - Submit student enrollment forms

• 12/31/2026 - Bus Reservation for MESA Day  (Friday, May 21, 2027 at Portland State University) 

Resources

• Resources page (MyMESA)

• MATRIX Resources

College & Career Opportunities

• OSU Engineering Virtual Talk series- https://beav.es/coetalks. All of these sessions are facilitated by College of Engineering Ambassadors (current engineering students). 

Family Engagement Opportunities

• Reach out to your Regional Coordinator for help coordinating Family Nights. A Family Night in the fall is a great way to get your chapter going! We are eager to support and encourage joint family nights with other MESA chapters in your area.

External Opportunities

• NASA STEM Opportunities and Activities For Students

• Portland District's Annual Engineer Day - Wednesday February 24. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Portland District’s annual Engineer Day is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2027! This free event invites local high school students to spend the day with USACE engineers and technical professionals while exploring educational and career opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). Students will participate in hands-on activities and learn how different engineering disciplines help solve real-world problems. This initial RSVP will help us plan for attendance and our 200-person capacity. 

• Date: Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2027

• Location: Block 300 Federal Building, 333 SW 1st Ave., Portland, OR

• Cost: Free

• Capacity: Due to space limitations, we can accommodate up to 200 participants total, including students, teachers and chaperones.

• We anticipate a schedule similar to previous years:

  • 8:30–9:30 a.m. – Check-in

  • 9:30–10 a.m. – Opening remarks and introductions

  • 10 a.m.–noon – Morning classroom sessions

  • Noon–1 p.m. – Lunch, bingo/mingle and table sessions

  • 1–2 p.m. – Afternoon activity sessions

  • 2 p.m. - Closing remarks

• If your school is interested in attending, please RSVP by sending an email to: John.L.Morgan@usace.army.mil 

If known, please include:

• Name of your school

• Grade level(s) attending — sophomore, junior and/or senior

• Approximate number of students

• Approximate number of teachers/chaperones