NEW ORLEANS – The Delgado Community College Division of Mathematics and Science is engaged in its second summer Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) program. This faculty-driven outreach endeavor was initiated by the Biotechnology faculty in the Math and Science Division, in order to promote interest in the sciences.
This week kicks off the high school STEM programs on the City Park and the West Bank campuses, and finishes the first week of the Summer Math ACES, “we put the M in STEM,” at the City Park Campus.
The City Park High School STEM Challenges program, made possible by support from the Joe W. and Dorothy Dorsett Brown Foundation and New Orleans Business Alliance, is an in-depth, three-week session offering a unique multidisciplinary experience presented in specific scientific modules.
In these modules students work with Delgado science faculty in the City Park laboratories and apply concepts from physical sciences, chemistry, biology, biotechnology and applied math in the investigation of scientific phenomena. The modules allow students to explore, interact and design experiments with experienced faculty in an advanced academic setting. Many of the experiments are designed with variable results so that students learn to interpret the outcomes and draw their own conclusions. The students and instructors learn from this approach together in an engaging environment that promotes scientific curiosity and discovery.
“If we want the next generation of New Orleanians to prosper economically, we must provide on-ramps to jobs in high-growth, high-wage industries,” said Melissa Ehlinger, interim president and CEO of the New Orleans Business Alliance. “We’ve partnered with Delgado to begin to funnel New Orleans students into STEM career paths that can help them create generational wealth, which in turn helps stabilize and grow the New Orleans economy.”
The Delgado Summer STEM program aligns with the five industry clusters identified in ProsperityNOLA, the city’s five-year plan for economic growth.
Delgado Community College faculty will also offer one week STEM camps for middle school students, highlighting hands-on laboratory experiences, with sessions conducted June 29-July 2, July 6-9, July 13-16 and July 20-24.
The dynamic inquiry-driven experience offers students unique weekly immersions in all of the different aspects of STEM.
Limited space is still available for middle school students at all three Delgado locations offering the program: Northshore, West Bank and City Park.
