The 2021 STEM for All Video Showcase will feature UNC Pembroke’s COMPASS2 scholarship program. The event will be held online May 11-18 at https://stemforall2021.videohall.com/.
The presentation, entitled “Unlocking Pathways at UNCP: A COMPASS for STEM Students,” looks at how the COMPASS2 program strives to promote equity for biology and chemistry majors by supporting students financially, helping them academically, developing their science identity and STEM-careers awareness and growing a community of scholars and mentors.
The video showcase is funded by the National Science Foundation.
Dr. Maria Santisteban, professor of biology at UNCP, said the project is designed to address barriers to degree completion of our biology and chemistry students by promoting access and providing academic support, career support and community building.
“We realized that beyond financial support, there was a need for role models in STEM, for science identity and a fundamental need for information about research, graduate school and careers available to our students with a science degree that would encourage them to pursue careers in STEM,” said Santisteban, COMPASS2 program director.
Drs. Rita Hagevik and Rebecca Bullard-Dillard are co-principal investigators of COMPASS2.
“We wanted to participate in the STEM for All Video Showcase to give our program visibility and share our story with others who are working toward similar goals and encountering similar challenges,” Hagevik said.
The video was produced by UNCP’s videographer Michael Litty, along with collaboration from science education graduate students Hannah Clayton and Timothy Hinton.
Dr. Santisteban, a member of the Genomics Education Partnership (GEP) consortium, is also a presenter in a second project at the STEM for all video showcase event. The presentation, entitled “Democratizing Genomics Research Experiences in a Pandemic,” looks at how GEP adapted to the global pandemic to strengthen a growing virtual community of faculty that promotes and supports students’ intellectual engagement, active learning, and undergraduate research while requiring nothing more than a computer with internet access.