Proyecto Access Science and Technology Entry Program (STEP)
by Diandra Jugmahon, Co-director for CSTEP/STEP and Proyecto Access
The Proyecto Access STEP 2015 summer session ran from July 1 through August 14 2015, Mondays through Thursdays from 9:00am to 3:00pm along with educational field trips on Fridays under the supervision of Professor Moise Koffi.
The program started with the Opening Day Event, attended by 250 participants including students, parents, staff and guests, where opening remarks were given by Dr. David Gomez, President of Hostos Community College.
The program provided STEM courses and workshops to 154 secondary school students at Hostos Community College. This summer, STEP partnered with the Astor Collegiate High School located in the Bronx serving an additional 43 students in Robotics/Technology Workshop, reaching a total of 197 secondary school students in STEM. Our partnership was extended to the Hostos Health, Education, and Research Occupations High School, where incoming 9th graders participated successfully in summer STEM activities.
STEP at Hostos offered several enrichment courses and workshops in Robotics, Computer Science, Chemistry, Living Environment, Physics, Basic Astronomy, Technical Writing and Research. Furthermore, eligible STEP participants were prepared to take the Common Core Algebra, Common Core Geometry, and Standard Geometry exams, resulting in the following outcomes:
- 6 out of 7 students passed the Common Core Algebra Regents Exam (86% rate of success)
- 2 out 3 students passed the Common Core Geometry Regents Exam (67% rate of success)
- 4 out of 5 students passed the Standard Geometry Regents Exam (80 % rate of success)
Summer participants were also engaged in hands-on-activities in Robotics and Engineering. After five weeks of intensive preparation, all STEP students participated in the Hostos STEP Annual Engineering Day event, competing in the Tower, Bridge and Robotics projects. They were also involved in presenting their research topics via poster and digital presentations.
Throughout the summer, the following STEM professionals spoke to the participants, motivating them pursue STEM careers and the licensed professionals.
- Diana Samaroo, Chair, Chemistry Department
City College of Technology - Dane Christie (Hostos Alumni)
Graduate student and National Science Foundation (NSF) fellow, Chemical and Biological Engineering (CBE) Department
Princeton University - Clara Nieto-Wire
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
Hostos Community College - Taraje Williams-Murray
MSBFSM, CRPS®, CRPC®
Founder & CEO
Coroebus Wealth Management, LLC
Other services:
- Six STEP students conducted their internship in the program.
- Seven 11th graders were nominated for the Posse Foundation Scholarship
The STEP summer program concluded with a final trip to Six Flags Great Adventure, which involved over 175 participants, including students, parents, and program staff.
Proyecto Access Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP)
The Proyecto Access CSTEP Program concurrently ran from July 6th through July 31st, Mondays through Thursdays from 1:30pm to 5:30pm. The program provided workshops in Anatomy and Physiology, Micro-Biology I-II which were offered by Professor Damaris Lois-Lang from the Natural Sciences Department and Probability and Statistics offered by Professor Philip Doku from Mathematics Department.
Along with the workshops, five Hostos CSTEP participants conducted their internships by mentoring STEP students. In addition, two CSTEP students were selected to participate in the Bronx STEM Scholars program at Lehman College.