San Diego City College MESA Program Director Rafael Alvarez was interviewed on November 22, 2011 by NBC 7 reporter Rory Devine, in response to a Forbes Magazine article on Hispanics in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics). Below are links to the NBC 7 video and Forbes article. Also included in the video is a San Diego State University (SDSU) MESA student and President of the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE) – SDSU Chapter.

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.

Join us for a half-day’s exploration of the power of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

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

70 students across the 3 participating campuses of the San Diego MESA Alliance (San Diego State University MESA Engineering Program, San Diego City College MESA program, and Southwestern Community College MESA program) were given a $500 scholarship for participation in SPSD activities.

5 students at SDSU were given scholarships less than $500 as appropriated by their unmet need determined by the Financial Aid & Scholarship Office.

$35,590 in NSF scholarships distributed directly to students significantly decreased financial burden on students and their families.

The National Science Foundation today announced an $18.5 million grant to establish an Engineering Research Center (ERC) for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering based at the University of Washington with San Diego State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as research partners.

California Connects offers a multi-pronged approach to increasing digital literacy and broadband access for underserved communities for whom computer and internet access is still a challenge. The project reaches these communities through two primary partner efforts:
The Mathematics, Engineering, and Science Achievement (MESA) program serves economically disadvantaged, first generation community college students who come from underrepresented populations.
The Great Valley Center (GVC) is a non-profit organization targeting services to the Central Valley; residents with the lowest computer and broadband use, and high concentrations of Latinos who also have low computer and internet usage.

All it takes to build a windmill is construction paper, rubber bands and batteries.

At least that’s what 40 Imperial Valley students in the Math Engineering Science and Achievement program in three middle schools and two high schools attempted to do at the San Diego Gas & Electric Windmill presentation at the SDG&E Resource Center on Wednesday in El Centro.

Five SDG&E engineers were on hand to give students an outlook on their career choice.

A select group of four San Diego State students were among 150 college students across California chosen to participate in a special leadership conference.

The Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Student Leadership Conference offered extensive professional and leadership development through direct interaction with industry mentors and speakers. The hand-picked MESA students, all science, engineering, or math majors, were from 24 universities and community colleges across the state, including San Diego State University.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) sponsored the event and more than 25 PG&E employees volunteered their time to work closely with the students during the 2-day conference in October.

Teams of MESA & SPSD students design “buoyancy shoes”, and student “shoe pilots” race across the length of the pool. Competition allows students to gain experience at applying applying the engineering design process; solving open-ended problems.

Engineering and computer science students at San Diego State will benefit from increased services thanks to a grant from Sempra Energy Foundation.

The San Diego State Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) center will receive $6,000 to support students in retention and graduation.

MESA, an academic preparation and enrichment program, supports students so they can earn degrees in math-based fields. At San Diego State, more than 260 students are involved in MESA.

Four other MESA centers in Sempra’s service area will also receive $6,000 each: Cal State LA, UC Santa Barbara, Cal State Long Beach and CSU Fresno. MESA currently serves more than 1,000 students at those five campuses.