Student Success Update
TC Energy Summer Scholars Academy Kicks Off
The TC Energy Summer Scholars Academy kicked off its 9-week summer bridge program on June 5. Fifty-seven students interested in pursuing majors in NSM or engineering have the opportunity to earn credit for Calculus 1, receive a preview of Chemistry, participate in a College Success mini course, and take a Scholar Enrichment Program Calculus workshop. Additionally, students participate in career panels, lunch and learns, soft skills workshops, and have a staff mentor. This program will provide a community of support for incoming freshman participants for the Fall 2023 semester. The Academy is in its fifth year, and its fourth year of the partnership with TC Energy.
UH STEM Center Hosts Local High School Students at the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair
The UH STEM Center hosted 29 students participating in the Regeneron International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) held May 13-19 in Dallas. Local high school students who won a Grand Award at the Science and Engineering Fair of Houston (SEFH) were eligible to participate in ISEF. This event, the world’s largest global science competition, offers 9th–12th grade students the opportunity to compete for nearly $9 million in awards and scholarships.
This year, ISEF provided a global stage for the best and brightest young minds in science and engineering with over 1,600 student participants. Twenty grand award winners from the SEFH and nine students from the Texas State Science Fair attended the event. Students from the SEFH garnered $70,000 in awards including scholarships and prize money. The ISEF Special Award and Grand Award recipients were honored during the award ceremony.
NSM Career Center Updates
NSM Graduation Survey Adds First Destination Questions and Graduation Cord
The NSM Career Center added First Destination Survey questions to the current NSM Graduation Survey to gather data centered around experiential learning needs and experiences. To bolster student participation, the Career Center offered a red, NSM graduation cord to students completing the survey. The addition of the cord offering helped raise typical student participation from over 50% to a record 97.68% of students who participated in NSM’s commencement ceremony. Overall, 81.38% of the entire NSM Spring 2023 graduating class completed the survey. The College and Career Center are evaluating the critical data received from the survey and will use results to develop strategic plans and future student services.
NSM Career Center Offers Career Counseling Services
The NSM Career Center has added career counseling as a service for NSM students. Since the addition of the service in March 2023, 66 counseling appointments have been held. Following each counseling session, a personalized message that includes the action items discussed is sent to the student. Of the 66 messages sent out, analytics show that these students have recorded 655 clicks on the resource links provided by the career counselor. (Note that this does include multiple clicks on a single resource link by a single student.) The Career Center is also reviewing all resumes submitted to the HireNSM platform and has more than tripled the size of the Resource Section in HireNSM which will assist students in finding and preparing for future internships and/or jobs.
Fall 2023 Inaugural Natural Sciences and Mathematics + Computer Science Career Fair
The NSM Career Center has begun accepting industry/partner registrations for the inaugural Natural Sciences and Mathematics + Computer Science Career Fair that will be held on September 6, 2023, in the UH Student Center Houston Room from 11 am–2 pm. This event marks the first College-wide career fair in its history. The career fair has gained sponsorship from local energy company, TC Energy, and looks to be a valuable annual event for NSM students to network with industry leaders and to gain internships and full-time roles. Faculty are encouraged to email Dawnelle Prince, dsprince@central.uh.edu, with industry contacts you want to be invited to participate in the event.