Past Events
April 2018: STCC held its second Career Awareness Fair.
April 2018: Once again, STCC hosted STEM Week at STCC for local high school and middle school students. 28 students spent Spring Break with students and staff, doing fun activities in STEM. Their week culminated in a field trip to the Connecticut Science Center and a closing celebration for their families and friends.
February 28, 2018: Dr. Talithia Williams of Harvey Mudd College served as the second speaker in the HSI STEM Speaker Series.
February 26, 2018: HSI STEM participated in the campus Professional Development Day for faculty and staff. Dr. Gina Garcia, faculty of the University of Pittsburgh, served as the day's keynote speaker. Staff members of the Escala Educational Services led workshops on culturally competent pedagogy and academic service. Five faculty members gave presentations to their colleagues on semester-long projects, and received from the Escala staff Certificates of College Teaching and Learning at HSIs.
November 1, 2017: Co-sponsored by HSI STEM @ STCC, the Perkins grant, and Career Services, STCC held its first Career Awareness Fair. Featuring representation from both academic programs and local employers, over 150 high school and current STCC students were able to connect the dots between a STCC degree and future employment. The students were able to ask questions and learn from the faculty, staff, and students from academic programs, and gather information about possible employment opportunities from employers.
September 20, 2017: Dr. Albert Manero, President and Founder of Limbitless Solutions, gave a presentation to a filled-to-capacity auditorium on his company's work that intersects entrepreneurship, philanthropy, and engineering. Using 3D printing technology, Manero and colleagues create artificial limbs for children at no cost to families.
Dr. Manero joins Drs. Smith and Griffin-Fennell in welcoming students and staff from New England Farm Workers. One of the students holds the Iron Man prosthetic arm that he and his colleagues printed for a six-year-old boy.
August 29, 2017: A collaboration was established between HSI STEM @ STCC and New England Farm Workers (NEFW) in order to provide STEM career-centered outreach for participants in NEFW programming. On August 29, a group of NEFW students and staff accompanied members of the STCC community on a tour of Peerless Precision, Inc., a female owned manufacturing firm in Westfield, MA. This event served as the first of several outreach opportunities that target the population that NEFW serves. Kristin Maier Carlson, president of Peerless Precision, Inc., talked with the group about the types of precision machining in which the company specializes, as well as the kinds of job opportunities that the company is seeking to fill due to a retiring workforce. The meeting ended with a tour of the shop, where the group witnessed different types of machinery being used. Some participants showed their knowledge of the equipment present in the shop. When asked about whether a career in machining would be of interest, members of the group expressed interest in the profession.
Kristin Maier Carlson, president of Peerless Precision, Inc., introduces the group to a female employee
Kristen Carlson talks about the types of positions at Peerless Precision, Inc., to NEFW students and staff
June 29 through August 13, 2017: The Big Three STEM Initiative (a collaboration with the Urban League of Springfield, Springfield Technical Community College, and the University of Massachusetts)
Over eight weeks (June 27 through August 16), three days each week, HSI STEM at STCC and UMass are working with the Urban League of Springfield on "The Big 3 STEM Pipeline," an initiative aimed at increasing students' awareness of academic programs and career paths in computer game science, cyber security, and STEM/health. This camp was free of cost to the campers' parents.
Nineteen children (approximately 50% female, 100% students of color) participated in the summer activities of the program, representing various Springfield and CT schools. The students participated in hands-on activities with guest lecturers, including STCC students and faculty; attend field trips; and learn about soft skills.
Participating students gather within the Data Center for a photograph
David Czech, Network/System Administrator, shows the students servers housed within the STCC Data Center
Professor Brian Candido, chair of Computer Information Technologies, discusses password security with the students
May 24 through 26, 2017: 6th Annual Conference of U.S. News STEM Solutions (Theme: Building America's Workforce: A Blueprint for Tomorrow)
A group of administrators from the college traveled to this conference, where they networked with other STEM professionals throughout the country, attended sessions on promising interventions and ground-breaking research, learned about technological advances for implementation in the classroom, and listened to talks from some of the most influential persons in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.
Attendees learn about building blocks.
College administrators participate in a panel discussion on The STEM Revolution in Higher Education.
Matthew Sutton of CH2M delivers a talk.
U.S. News STEM Leadership Hall of Fame Honorees engage in a panel discussion with Brian Kelly of U.S. News & World Report (far left). From left to right, Susan Hockfield, Ph.D. of MIT and AAAS; Andrew Liveris of the Dow Chemical Company; Ellen Ochoa, Ph.D. of NASA's Johnson Space Center; Ioannis Miaoulis, Ph.D. of Museum of Science, Boston; Ursula Burns of Xerox Corporation.
A FIRST Robotics participant explains a robot's functions to an attendee.
April 18 through 21, 2017: STEM Week at STCC
During Springfield Public Schools spring break (April 18 through 21), HSI STEM at STCC and the Latino Education Institute (LEI) worked together to host local middle and high school students (6th grade through 9th grade) for a week of exploration through STEM.
25 students from 16 different schools spent four fun-filled days at STCC, participating in various hands-on and team building activities. They met with faculty members and community members who showed the children different kinds of technology, informed them about STEMcareers, and taught them skills through fun activities. They also went on field trips to the Gandara Youth Development Center, where they learned how to podcast, and to Tech Spring, where they created hovercrafts.
The students reported that they truly enjoyed their week at STCC. They also noted that they would love to come back and do this again during spring break 2018 and summer 2018!
Thank you to the STCC Community for welcoming the children to campus. Many thanks to everyone who was involved in the students' STEM Week at STCC. HSI STEM and LEI hope to be able to repeat this success next year!
KIZOA-Movie-Maker-my1osrbt.mp4A compilation of selected photos and videos taken during STEM Week at STCC
STEM Camper with his older sister, who was also a staffer.
Campers engage in a team-building exercise.
Campers and staffers play a word association game.
Campers created paper replicas of lockplates on Armory riflery.
Camper and staffer preparing to review the quality of new built lockplates.
Dr. Nick Massa tells the campers about lasers.
Campers watch as another shows his talents playing guitar.
A camper has almost completed his hovercraft.
Campers, their families, and others view photographs from STEM Week at STCC.
Prof. Zee Haddad teaches the campers math concepts with a catapult.
Campers tour the SIMS Medical Center.
Campers compare each others' progress in making hovercrafts using CDs and balloons.
Campers, their families, and others view photographs from STEM Week at STCC.
April 8 through 12, 2017: Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators (AHSIE)
A group of faculty, staff, administrators, and students attended the 9th annual AHSIE Best Practices Conference (Theme: Building and Sustaining Powerful Partnerships for Student Success at HSIs). Conference sessions provided great content for possible implementation at STCC.
STCC students, Edwin Torres-Batista (center) and Evelyn Quinones (far right) hang out with students from other colleges and universities
From left to right: Maria Zayas-Bonilla, Dean Adrienne Smith, Evelyn Quinones, Felicia Griffin-Fennell, and Edwin Torres-Batista sit down for a meal.
Edwin Torres-Batista (right) with a student
Cover art from AHSIE's Conference Program
Program officers for Title V and Title III, Part F (HSI STEM) grant recipients provide helpful advice.
Presenters prepare for a talk.
Students participating in an Institute on Student Leadership.
March 13, 2017: Faculty Professional Development
Full-time and part-time faculty members who teach chemistry participated in a one-day, informational session on Process Oriented Guided Inquiry Learning (POGIL). A student-centered strategy, students work in small groups with individual roles to ensure that all students are fully engaged in the learning process. Activities focus on core concepts and encourage a deep understanding of the course material while developing higher-order thinking skills. It teaches students to develop process skills, such as critical thinking, problem solving, and communication through cooperation and reflection (Modified from https://pogil.org).
Chris Bauer, POGIL group facilitator and University of New Hampshire faculty, answers questions about POGIL effectiveness.
Faculty members from both STCC and Mount Holyoke learn how to apply POGIL concepts to the classroom.
March 6, 2017: Biophysics Day (collaboration with Bay Path University)
Dr. Yadilette Rivera-Colon, Assistant Professor of Biology and Undergraduate Research Program Coordinator, led a workshop on biophysics with STCC students, faculty, and staff. She and her students walked STCC through a recreation of how DNA was discovered using light filaments.
Biophysics Day Flyer v2.pdf
Dr. Yadilette Rivera-Colon introduces the group to the field of Biophysics.
STCC faculty and staff examine light filaments.
Dr. Rivera-Colon and her students shine laser light through a light filament to see a helix shape.
A Bay Path student and a STCC student work together to discover a helix structure.
STCC students work together to see a helix structure through a filament.
