( Elizabeth Varin ) Adalberto Lopez, 13, of Holtville watches his team¿s robot, Los Ratones, move through a maze to pick up balls and deliver them at the MESA robotics competition Saturday at Imperial High School.

…Rebekah and Team A.I. are among the groups that will head to San Diego after placing in the Top Three at the Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement robotics competition held Saturday at Imperial High School. Imperial Valley Press Online, 1/21/12

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Students typically shadow a math, science or engineering professional from a company from approximately 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. During this time, hosts are asked to provide the best experience possible; this is after all a potential employee. They were given flexibility to structure a Shadow Day agenda to best match their company’s environment.

Total student participants:  100

• MEP @ San Diego State Univ: 62
• MESA Southwestern College: 15
• MESA San Diego City College: 4
• MESA Pre College ~ Imperial Valley: 12
• MESA Pre College ~ San Diego: 12

Shadow Day is a wonderful opportunity to engage, educate and inspire future Engineers and Scientists.  Specifically:

• Host Engineering & Physical Science Majors
• Showcase Firm
• Mentor Potential Employees

Shadow Day 2011 was held on Thursday, November 17, from ~9:00 – 2:00 pm.

The following companies participated in Shadow Day 2011:

1. BDS Engineering: 2
2. Black & Veatch: 1
3. CALTRANS/PEGC: 4
4. Chem Research Lab (Harrison)~ SDSU: 4
5. Computational Science Lab (Paolini) ~ SDSU: 5
6. Hamilton Sundstrand: 5
7. Kennedy Jenks: 1
8. Morse High School: 4
9. Nasland Engr: 3
10. NAVAIR: 7
11. Rick Engineering: 4
12. Solar Turbines/HB/KM: 58 (34 College & 21 HS)
13. T.Y. Lin: 3
14. TKDA: 2

The 6 companies in bold had their Shadow Day coordinated by MESA/MEP alumni.  2 students visited TKDA which is located in Irvine.  In addition, MESA Directors also gave a presentation to Solar Turbines about the San Diego MESA Alliance.

Any additional photo/video coverage can be found at the San Diego MESA Alliance Facebook page.

Student participants were asked to attend 1 of the following student prep meetings listed below, where they were given the full run-down of what to expect and what companies were expecting from students in terms of mannerisms and professionalism:

1. Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at San Diego State University, Engineering Building, Room 201, from 2:00 – 3:00 pm.
2. Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at San Diego State University, Engineering Building, Room 201, from 3:00 – 4:00 pm.
3. Thursday, November 10, 2011 at Southwestern College, Computer Lab 393/MESA Center 396, from 12:00 – 1:00 pm.

Shadow Day 2011 information can also be found at:
http://mep.sdsu.edu/ShadowDay.htm

This is a unique paid internship that incorporates a team component into the student internship experience. Hired student interns were placed in teams of 2-4 students to work on projects in engineering and science firms or for faculty. Summer internships occurred between May through August of 2011, at a minimum of 100 hours. In some cases, employers and/or faculty may extend internships or create other internship opportunities for students (beyond summer 2011).

Company partners:

1. Ambient Controls
2. Anza-Borrego Desert State Park
3. Bio4Front
4. Caltrans
5. CSP, UCSD
6. CURE, UCSD
7. FRCSW
8. Goodrich Aerostructures
9. Kennedy/Jenks Consultants
10. Malcolm Pirnie
11. MWH Global, Inc.
12. Naviscan
13. Research – Dr. Lisa Chaddock at San Diego City College
14. Research – Dr. Gordon Lee at SDSU
15. Research – Dr. Fletcher Miller at SDSU
16. Research – Dr. Satish Sharma at SDSU
17. Research – Dr. Gerald Selah at Southwestern College
18. Rick Engineering Company
19. San Diego Coastkeeper
20. SPAWAR
21. Suburban Water Systems
22. Technische Universitat Hamburg-Harburg

Collaboratively, each student intern team created a joint poster that detailed their team’s experiences at their respective companies and presented to those in attendance at the 4th Annual NSF/MESA Summer Team Internship reception held on Wednesday, August 2, 2011 at San Diego State University Parma Payne Goodall Alumni Center.

The program for the luncheon included keynote speakers David T. Hayhurst, SDSU Dean of the College of Engineering, and San Diego MESA Alliance (SDMA) Industry Advisory Board Vice-Chair Maria-Victoria Charles of Hamilton Sundstrand, followed by student and mentor recognition. Open poster presentation/networking amongst guests in attendance closed out the luncheon.

The following are a few of the summer team interns’ poster presentations:

1. SWC_8_Barriga_Robles
2. SDSU_5_Herrera_Miles
3. SWC_12_Arias_Hinahon_Moran_Rumney
4. SWC_11_Byrum
5. SWC_10_Coreas_Sycks_Betancourt
6. SDSU_15_Leandro
7. SDSU_9_Damman
8. SDSU_6_Armenta_Tuley_Barrios
9. SDSU_4_Arroyo_Nuspl
10. SDSU_3_Gonzales_Long_Harmes_Reyna
11. SDSU_1_Akram_Valdivieso_Inciong
12. City_16_Hernandez_Jahumada_Alarid
13. City_11_Vasquez
14. City_7_Aloisio_Alvarez
15. City_2_Aristide_Riveros_ Rojas_ Roman_Vera
16. SWC_13_Ascencio_Bogart_Cao_Sanchez_West

Additional photo coverage can also be found at the San Diego MESA Alliance (SDMA) Facebook Page.

Video – “As seen on” NBC 7, Tuesday, November 22:
Bridging the Gap: There are high paying, professional jobs for college graduates, but not enough qualified people to fill them.
http://www.nbcsandiego.com/video/#!/on-air/as-seen-on/Bridging-the-Gap/134372433

Article – Forbes Magazine, Tuesday, November 22
Are Hispanics America’s Next Great STEM Innovators?
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmarshallcrotty/2011/11/22/are-hispanics-americas-next-great-stem-innovators/

Specifically, MESA students were invited to participate in a Reverse Mentoring session. Session panelists included:

• Mr. Gary Wang, – Facilitator, (Chief Information Officer and Corporate Operations Lead, SPAWAR)
• RDML James Rodman, Jr. (Chief Engineer, SPAWAR)
• Mr. Robert Wolborsky, (Chief Technology Officer / Science & Technology Director, SPAWAR)
• Mr. Robert Makar, (Vice President, Booz-Allen-Hamilton) via Daphne Warren
• Dr. Ronald Smiley, (Electronic Warfare and Combat Systems Director, NAWCWD Port Hueneme)
• Mr. Rafael Alvarez, (MESA Program Director, San Diego City College)
• German Verduzco (MESA Student, San Diego State University)
• Fatuma Yusuf (MESA Student, San Diego City College)
• Burton Neuner III and James Meaden, (designated New Professionals)
• CAPT Joseph Beel, (Commander, SSC PAC)
• Dr. Ebonee Williams, (University of California at San Diego)

Also in attendance were Theresa Garcia (MESA Program Director, San Diego State University), Dr. Raga Bakhiet (MESA Program Director, Southwestern College), Diana Riveros (City College MESA transfer at University of California, San Diego), Ebun Jones (MESA Student, San Diego State University) and Jesus Flores (MESA Student, Southwestern College).

Reverse Mentoring panel

CHINFO Clips article 45:

http://www.navy.mil/search/display.asp?story_id=63380

SPAWAR And Southern California Industry Partners Collaborate To Enhance A Multigenerational Workforce
(NAVY NEWS SERVICE 20 OCT 11) … Nicole Collins, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command Public Affairs
SAN DIEGO — In partnership with industry and academia, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) hosted a forum Oct. 20 to encourage employees to develop communication skills and enhance collaboration among a growing multigenerational workforce.

DVIDS:
www.dvidshub.net/news/78784/spawar-and-southern-california-industry-partners-collaborate-enhance-multi-generational-workforce

News: SPAWAR and Southern California industry partners collaborate to enhance a multi-generational workforce
Story by Nicole Collins
SAN DIEGO – In partnership with industry and academia, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command hosted a forum, Thursday, Oct. 20, to encourage employees to develop communication skills and enhance collaboration among a growing multi-generational workforce.

Facebook: Articles and Photos

http://www.facebook.com/spaceandnavalwarfaresystemscommand#!/media/set/?set=a.10150356401017278.362145.150949972277&type=3

The students were matched with their university counterparts in the SDSU MESA Engineering & Maximizing Science Potential program, based on major and interests.

The SDSU students allowed the middle and high schoolers to ‘shadow’ them throughout the day. That meant bringing them along to classes, visiting labs, touring the beautiful campus, and sharing their college experience (both good and bad). For many of these middle and high school students, this was their first college experience and their first time on a college campus.

Additional media coverage can be found at the San Diego MESA Engineering Program Maximizing Science Potential Facebook page.

The purpose of the annual event was to provide a forum for the leaders of various student and professional organizations including:

• American Medical Student Association (AMSA)
• Black Student Science Organization (BSSO)
• Biology Club
• National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE)
• Pacific Asian Society of Engineers (PASE)
• Science Club
• Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE)
• Society of Women Engineers (SWE)

In addition, the following schools were represented:

• Universities:  San Diego State University, University of California – San Diego
• Community Colleges:  San Diego City College, Southwestern

Raytheon Company’s Mission Center Executive Randy Brandenburg welcomed attendees and Human Resources Talent Acquisition Vikki Wright provided an overview of the company and its opportunities.  In ‘Diversity Theatre,’ Raytheon Company staff played the roles of student organization members and addressed the issues of ethics, jealousy, diversity, inclusion, and authority.

[ Download sample 'Diversity Theatre' script (2010 version) ]

MESA staff and industry professionals facilitated student chapter breakout sessions where members presented highlights from previous years, expectations for 2011-2012, and worked towards developing a regional master calendar.

Guest speaker Wendy Martinez shared her first-hand experience of her struggles to become an engineer.  Martinez is a 2010 recipient of the prestigious HENAAC Luminary Award presented at the 22nd HENAAC Conference and she was featured as a Great Minds in STEM “Role Model of the Week” in February 2011.  Among other lists of achievements, Martinez is an alumnus of the MESA Engineering Program and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers at San Diego State University.

A former student leader alumni panel consisting of Kevin Askew, Brianna Lutes, Jane Odero, and Brenda Salumbides.  Panel topics included:  Empowering Others; Responsibilities of Officers; Balance school, work, position and life; Conflict resolution; and Using your adviser.

The conference culminated in leaders and industry professionals collaborating to improve chapter effectiveness and communication between stakeholders and to promote leadership development and a social/industry/professional networking experience.

Following the conference, MESA staff compiled a ‘2011-2012 Who’s Who Officer Contact Listing’ and add calendar events compiled from the joint planning to the San Diego MESA Alliance Google Calendar.

Photo coverage can also be found at the San Diego MESA Alliance (SDMA) Facebook Page.

Photos courtesy Raytheon Company.

RAYTHEON COMPANY, with 2009 sales of $25 billion, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, homeland security and other government markets throughout the world. With a history of innovation spanning 88 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration and other capabilities in the areas of sensing; effects; and command, control, communications and intelligence systems, as well as a broad range of mission support services. With headquarters in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon employs 75,000 people worldwide.

###

A select group of San Diego State students honed leadership skills for the future during a special conference for engineering and computer science majors.

The Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement Student Leadership Conference held in Oakland last month offered extensive professional and leadership development through direct interaction with industry mentors and speakers. The hand-picked students, all majoring in engineering or computer science, were from 25 universities and community colleges across the state.

SDG&E involvement

San Diego Gas and Electric Company sponsored 12 students from the San Diego area, including eight from SDSU. SDG&E’s $10,000 contribution also funded two students each from the affiliated programs at San Diego City and Southwestern colleges.

Brad Weinstein and Sherwin Yari, both with SDG&E, held workshops about the energy industry and encouraged students to continue their educational journeys. Yari, an associate engineer and Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement program alumnus, shared how the program helped him when he was a student.

Other conference sponsors included:

• Pacific Gas & Electric Company
• Sacramento Municipal Utilities District
• Southern California Gas Company
• Vanir Construction Management Inc.

Other contributors included East Bay Municipal Utilities District, the Oakland Athletics and Pixar.

Keeping California competitive

The Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement program is one of the largest in the state to support educationally disadvantaged students so they can graduate from college with degrees in science, technology, engineering, and math, also known as STEM disciplines.

“We know that California’s economy needs more STEM workers to stay competitive,” said Oscar F. Porter, the program’s executive director. “These students provide the solution to industry’s need for well-trained professionals.

“They were selected to attend the conference because these students have strong leadership skills. This event gives them a chance to interact extensively with STEM professionals currently working in the field.”

Student attendees represented campuses throughout California, including California State University, University of California and community colleges, as well as private universities.

About the program

Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement, an academic preparation program that each year serves about 20,000 California pre-college, community college and university students who are educationally disadvantaged, is an award-winning program with a model that works.

Seventy percent of the program’s high school graduates statewide went directly to college after graduation, compared to 48 percent of all California graduates. Sixty percent of MESA students go on to math, science or engineering majors.

Story from SDSU NewsCenter:  http://newscenter.sdsu.edu/sdsu_newscenter/news.aspx?s=73265

Additional photo coverage can be found at the MESA Statewide Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/mesa.statewide?sk=photos

Post-Conference Lunch

MESA and SDG&E: R. Alvarez, T. Garcia, W. Ruis, J. Muniz-Torres, L. Zelkind, T. White, J. Espino-Ramos, R. Bakhiet

san diego state SLC post event release

MESA students from San Diego State University, Southwestern and San Diego City Colleges gathered to thank San Diego Gas and Electric for its sponsorship and support.

Eleven MESA students hosted a luncheon for three SDG&E representatives on November 4, 2011 at the San Diego State College of Engineering.

SDG&E’s contribution allowed those students to build leadership skills during a special conference for engineering and computer science majors. The Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Student Leadership Conference Student Leadership Conference was held October 6 – 8 in
Oakland.

San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E) sponsored 12 students from the San Diego area including eight from San Diego State. SDG&E’s $10,000 contribution also funded two students each from the San Diego City and Southwestern College MESA programs.

During the luncheon, the students presented SDG&E with a certificate of appreciation and students received certificates for completing the conference. In attendance were SDG&E’s Community Relations Manager Warren Ruis, Staffing Advisor Tamika White and Senior Staffing Advisor Lisa
Zelkind.

“I was motivated because of the motivation I found in the students. I was only initially supposed to be there for two hours, but I stayed the entire time,” White said of the conference during the luncheon.  ”It motivated me as a professional to see their enthusiasm to learn.”

The conference offered extensive professional and leadership development through direct interaction with industry mentors and speakers. The hand-picked MESA students, engineering or computer science majors, are from 25 universities and community colleges across the state.

Brad Weinstein and Sherwin Yari of SDG&E held workshops about the energy industry and encouraged students with continuing their educational journeys. Yari, an associate engineer and MESA alum, shared how MESA helped him while a student at San Diego State University.

MESA and SDG&E award SDSU MEP student M. Gagui

Other sponsors include Pacific Gas & Electric Company, Sacramento Municipal Utilities District, Southern California Gas Company and Vanir Construction Management, Inc. Other contributors include East Bay Municipal Utilities District, the Oakland Athletics and Pixar.

MESA is one of the largest programs in the state to support educationally disadvantaged students so they can graduate from college with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) degrees.

“We know that California’s economy needs more STEM workers to stay competitive,” said MESA Executive Director Oscar F. Porter. “These students provide the solution to industry’s need for well trained professionals.
“They were selected to attend the conference because these students have strong leadership skills. This event gives them a chance to interact extensively with STEM professionals currently working in the field,” said Porter.

Student attendees represent the following campuses: CSU Chico, CSU East Bay, CSU Fresno, CSU Long Beach, CSU Los Angeles, CSU Sacramento, San Diego State University, San Francisco State University, San Jose State University, Sonoma State University, UC Riverside, UC Santa Barbara, UC Santa Cruz,
American River College (Sacramento), Butte College (Oroville), Cañada College (Redwood City), City College of San Francisco, Cosumnes River College (Sacramento), Los Medanos College (Pittsburg), Mission College (Santa Clara), Napa Valley College, Sacramento City College, San Diego City College,
San Joaquin Delta College, Skyline College (San Bruno), Southwestern College, Yuba College (Marysville).

MESA, an academic preparation program that each year serves about 20,000 California pre-college, community college and university students who are educationally disadvantaged, is an awarding winning program with a model that works. Seventy percent of MESA high school graduates statewide went directly to college after graduation compared to 48 percent of all California graduates.

Sixty percent of MESA students go on to math, science or engineering majors.
San Diego Gas and Electric, (SDG&E) is a regulated public utility that provides safe and reliable energy service to 3.5 million consumers through 1.4 million electric meters and more than 850,000 natural gas meters in San Diego and southern Orange counties. The utility’s area spans 4,100 square miles.
SDG&E is committed to creating ways to help our customers save energy and money every day.

For more information about MESA, visit http://mesa.ucop.edu/home.html.
For more information about SDG&E, visit http://www.sdge.com/index/

Photo coverage can be found at the San Diego MESA Alliance Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150349280233367.358070.52506768366&type=3

Engineers, educators and STEM experts will share their knowledge and experience with eighth graders, parents and teachers. Activities include:

• Catapult focused math problems
• Hands-on engineering activities
• Catapult design competition
• STEM learning stations
• Fun giveaways

Register by Wednesday, Nov. 2, at: http://raytheon.cvent.com/survey/catapult

There is no fee for this event but space is limited, so please register early.

Saturday, Nov. 12 – 8 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Raytheon Company
8680 Balboa Avenue
San Diego, CA 92123

Anyone interested in volunteering should contact Linda Anthony at lranthony@raytheon.com. She will need basic contact information (name, phone, email, organization) and add to her volunteer database. The volunteers will need to sign a waiver the upon arrival.

Raytheon’s MathMovesU program was founded in 2005 to spark passion in STEM studies among U.S. middle school students. Learn more at mathmovesu.com.

Follow us on:
Twitter @RaytheonCSR
facebook.com/mathmovesu

CatapultFlyer_PDF

The competition had 88 attendees, with 13 teams from Southwestern College, San Diego State University, San Diego Mesa College, and various high schools within the San Diego MESA Schools Program (San Pasqual High School, Mark Twain High School, Crawford High School), and La Jolla High School.

Some of the campuses respective MESA programs’ refunded costs to build the buoyancy shoes that teams created to ‘walk on water’, up to $100. Southwestern College student organizations such as AMSA (American Medical Student Association) and SHPE (Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers) provided refreshments for attendees as part of their fundraising efforts.

The San Diego MESA Alliance would like to thank the high school team advisers/chaperones for their support, as well as the following industry and faculty volunteers:

1. Maria-Victoria Charles
2. Ryan Charles
3. Peggy Umphres
4. Gary Young
5. Sharon Shapiro
6. Carl Scanbrick
7. Patrick Staley
8. Myriam Moody

2011 Walk on Water Competition Final Results:

Fastest shoes:

1. La Jolla High School – Team Bauhaus
2. La Jolla High School – Team Lusitania
3. Mark Twain High School – Team The Phoenix

Most Creative shoes:

1. Mark Twain High School – Team The Phoenix
2. San Pasqual High School – Team Super Nerds
3. San Diego State University – Team Boat Weiser

Best use of Recycled Material Usage:

1. San Diego State University – Team Chuck Norris
2. Crawford High School – Team Navigator 1.0
3. San Diego State University – Team Boat Weiser

Additional video coverage of practice sessions and the other first round heats can be found at the San Diego MESA Alliance Facebook page. Feel free to join, discuss, tag and upload your own pictures/videos.

Additional photo coverage can be found at the San Diego MESA Alliance Facebook page. Feel free to join, discuss, tag and upload your own pictures/videos.

DOCUMENTS:

• Directions
• Main campus map
• Registration and rules packet
• Flyer (General)
• Judges form
• SWC Code of Behavior