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STEM-Mia (“my STEM”) is a National Science Foundation funded project that provides scholarships and supports to academically talented, low-income STEM students at MDC InterAmerican Campus. Over a five-year period, the NSF - S-STEM funds will support 45 MDC students with scholarships and wrap around services toward preparing them for Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering (STEM) careers, which are in high-demand and critical to building a competitive workforce that will help grow America’s economy. The grant project will target two primary populations – biology and computer science majors. This presentation will discuss the impact of embedding faculty mentoring, discipline immersions, self-analysis, financial support, toward fostering and shaping student perceptions of their personal agency and empowering them to achieve their STEM-related academic and professional goals by helping them connect with the sources of their STEM self-efficacy and identity. What we are accomplishing in MDC serves as a model for two-year colleges seeking to incorporate curricular changes focused on success and retention in biology and computer science majors for populations who are underrepresented in STEM fields in general. 

This presentation will discuss the impact of embedding faculty mentoring, discipline immersions, self-analysis, financial support, toward fostering shaping student perceptions of their personal agency and empowering them to achieve their STEM-related academic and professional goals by helping them connect with the sources of their STEM self-efficacy and identity. What we are accomplishing in MDC serves as a model for two-year colleges seeking to incorporate curricular changes focused on success and retention in biology and computer science majors for populations who are underrepresented in STEM fields in general.