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We examined a collaboration between a community college and a university that aimed to encourage STEM majors to pursue science and mathematics teaching careers. This qualitative study examined the impact of recruiting students and offering UTeach replication courses at a community college on students' interest in teaching and actual matriculation rates into an educator preparation program. Several barriers were identified, including nuanced financial barriers, interinstitutional challenges (ex., the way courses were transferred), student inability to move to the university's location, and cultural differences at the university campus that decreased student interest in matriculation. The study also found that the program increased student interest in STEM teaching, strengthened student confidence in their teaching ability, and materially changed students' educational plans. 

The transition from an undergraduate STEM student to a successful STEM teacher who persists for more than 5 years teaching in a high needs school is a tenuous journey. Only one third of STEM teachers persist in teaching for more than 5 years, and in rural areas the number of STEM teachers who leave each year is even higher. The goal of the Noyce Scholarship program is to increase the number of effective STEM teachers in the public-school classroom. For most undergraduate STEM majors, their challenges in coursework, certification, and personal issues are highly individualized and need specific intervention. This qualitative case study examines the journey of one STEM undergraduate, how the Noyce program responded to the participant’s individual challenges, and the success and persistence of that Noyce recipient in the STEM classroom. Case studies such as this can provide critical information to EPP’s and STEM scholarship programs about the challenges and needs of STEM undergraduates and teachers, so that key changes can be made in those programs to better support and increase the number of effective STEM teachers who will stay in the classroom.