NSM Faculty/Staff Newsletter

Student Success Update

NSM Undergraduate Advising Event

The NSM Undergraduate Advising Center hosted a spooky-themed advising event on October 30 entitled “Hocus Pocus: Let’s Help You Focus.” The event was designed to address questions from students as they prepare for the Spring 2025 enrollment cycle. Advising staff met with approximately 150 students during the event. Students enjoyed Halloween-themed tunes while digging into breakfast pastries, popcorn, nachos, and other fun snacks during their wait! Students took scary pictures in a photo booth curated by NSM-IT and mingled with invited College and campus partners, including the staff from Scholar Enrichment Program, NSM Career Center, NSM Office of First Year Programs, UH’s Pre-Health Advising Center, and UH’s Learning Abroad program.

Office of First Year Program (OFYP) Updates

Recruitment, Transition, Retention

• The OFYP attended 13 TACRAO Fairs to recruit high school students to NSM. The Student Leadership Team spoke to nearly 600 students as they visited 12 Houston-area high school college fairs, including Houston, Alief, Pearland, and Clear Creek ISDs. These efforts aim to recruit a diverse cohort for admissions in Fall 2025.

• The OFYP participated in the UH Cougar Preview event on October 12. An academic information session and facilities tours were provided to 135 students/guests.

• In partnership with the Office of International Admissions, the OFYP offered an information session on October 9 in an effort to improve recruitment and enrollment of international students.
• OFYP and the NSM Undergraduate Advising Center co-hosted a virtual Q&A session for Exploratory Studies students as part of the Pathways to NSM program.
• OFYP will host a “Coffee & Conversation” series to build community among students and faculty. The three November events will feature faculty from the Departments of Biology & Biochemistry, Computer Science, and Mathematics.
• The OFYP will host a field trip, tentatively on Tuesday, November 26, to the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The event will build community among the students as they engage in a scavenger hunt and other team-building activities.
• The OFYP gave a presentation to the Dean’s Advisory Board on October 4, providing an overview of its activities, the impact on student success, and a look at future directions for meeting the goals set in the College Strategic Plan.

Student Leadership Team (SLT) Program Activities

• SLT members from Mathematics, Physics, Computer Science, and Honors Biomedical Sciences hosted Instagram Takeovers in October. The OFYP Instagram, with over 40k views, allows upperclass NSM majors to share their everyday experiences and advice with freshmen and their peers in NSM and at UH.
• The SLT hosted a Calculus I Study Night on October 15 and a Chemistry I Study Night on October 17. Nearly 100 students received additional tutoring and support for exams in the courses.
• The SLT hosted a Movie Night & Slime-Making Social to build community among the team and their freshman mentees.

teachHOUSTON Updates

Teacher Interest Group Meeting

On October 18, teachHOUSTON hosted a Teacher Interest Group (TIG) facilitated by Dr. Karla Adelina Garza for their preservice secondary STEM Teachers as part of the University of Houston – Advancing Cultural and Computational Engagement in STEM Scholars (UH-ACCESS) NSF grant program. The TIG offers support and provides opportunities to help preservice teachers, who serve underrepresented student populations, connect to their communities. Robert White, M.Ed., a teachHOUSTON Alumni and Master Teacher Fellow, presented engagement strategies. The UH-ACCESS grant program is led by Drs. Paige Evans, Donna Stokes, Jaspal Subhlok, and Weihang Zhu.

teachHOUSTON Recruiting

• The teachHOUSTON team participated in presentations to computer science majors on September 22 where Dr. Karen McIntush answered student questions. There were other teachHOUSTON staff and students in attendance who offered insight into the program offerings. The event was sponsored by teachHOUSTON and the Department of Computer Science in partnership with Google.
• On September 29, teachHOUSTON hosted its second open house of the semester, inviting NSM students to visit the teachHOUSTON office. Attendees learned about the various teachHOUSTON programs and had the opportunity to spin a prize wheel. Breakfast tacos and pan dulce (sweet bread) were served. Faculty and staff were on hand to answer students’ questions.

NSM Career Center Updates

Congratulations to Dr. Donna Pattison, 2024 Women Who Mean Business Award

On October 17, Donna Pattison, NSM Assistant Dean for Student Success, was recognized by the Houston Business Journal for her achievements in the field of education. Dr. Pattison was one of four women recognized for her dedication to educational research within STEM, enhancing student success, and the development of curriculum in biology and biochemistry. Her distinctions include multiple awards in teaching, including the University of Houston’s Distinguished Leadership in Teaching Excellence for her sustained and significant contributions in education. In addition, Dr. Pattison is a nationally recognized leader of the CRISPR in the Classroom Network, which empowers faculty to integrate CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing technology into courses. “Dr. P” as she is affectionately called by her students and staff, most recently played a pivotal role in launching the NSM Career Center, which supports over 6,000 students with professional development and job placement. Dr. Pattison and the NSM Career Center staff attended the HBJ Awards Luncheon to celebrate her commitment to innovative biochemistry research, higher education, and empowering future science leaders.

Employer Engagement

NSM Career Center Director Dawnelle Prince continues to hold meetings to build relationships with employers who can provide opportunities for our students. Below is a list of employers who have recently engaged with or will be engaging with our students in the coming months.

• ENGIE North America is the leader in the Net Zero energy transition, providing integrated, renewable energy and low-carbon energy solutions. ENGIE introduced their newly revamped Early Career Talent Program for EAS, Math Finance, Data Science, Physics, and Computer Science majors.
• The Federal Bureau of Investigation is interested in recruiting talent from Applied Mathematics, Computer Science, Data Science, and Cybersecurity programs. They also presented information regarding cybersecurity scholarship programs. Initial plans for a Spring campus visit were discussed.
• Meta recruiters met with Prince to discuss the best ways to engage with students studying Machine Learning, Artificial Intelligence, and Data Mining. Meta is particularly interested in developing relationships with NSM’s student leadership.
• Goldman Sachs vice presidents and talent acquisition specialists were on campus for an Information Session the week of November 4-8.