{"id":9814,"date":"2013-03-08T13:05:00","date_gmt":"2013-03-08T21:05:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/climbing-the-stem-of-success\/"},"modified":"2024-07-18T14:21:49","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T21:21:49","slug":"climbing-the-stem-of-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/climbing-the-stem-of-success\/","title":{"rendered":"Climbing the STEM of Success"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n    \n                                \n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--article-hero \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--article-hero\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n<div class=\"inner-wrapper\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--image\">\n\n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n    \n              \n      <img\n                            data-src=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2013\/03\/story-1338_4x-768x432.jpg\"\n          data-srcset=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2013\/03\/story-1338_4x-1280x720.jpg 1280w,https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/2013\/03\/story-1338_4x-768x432.jpg 768w\"          data-sizes=\"(min-width:1200px) 75vw, (min-width:768px) 83vw, 100vw\"          class=\"lazyload\"\n        \n                  role=\"none\"\n        \n        \n                                      \/>\n\n    \n    \n  \n  \n\n<\/div>\n  \n      <div class=\"image-caption\">\n          \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  Internship participant Jose Araujo from Cerrritos Community College works in the lab with USC Dornsife mentor Priscilla Antunez, a graduate student in the chemistry PhD program and the recipient of an NSF graduate fellowship. Araujo&#8217;s positive experiences during the internship inspired him to transfer to USC Dornsife where he is now majoring in chemistry. Photo by Richard Brutchey.\n\n\n<\/div>\n    <\/div>\n  \n  <div class=\"text-wrapper\">\n          <nav aria-label=\"Breadcrumb\" class=\"breadcrumbs\">\n        <ul>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\">News<\/a><\/li>\n                      <li><a href=\"\/news\/stories\/\/?category=student\">Student<\/a><\/li>\n                  <\/ul>\n      <\/nav>\n    \n              \n<div class=\"f--field f--page-title\">\n\n    \n  <h1>Climbing the STEM of Success<\/h1>\n\n\n<\/div>\n    \n          <div class=\"subtitle\">\n            \n<div class=\"f--field f--description\">\n\n    \n  A paid summer research internship program created by USC Dornsife chemistry professors is proving successful in motivating academically at-risk community college students to major in STEM subjects at four-year universities.\n\n\n<\/div>\n      <\/div>\n    \n           <strong class=\"author-field\"><span >By<\/span><a href=\"mailto:communication@dornsife.usc.edu\">Susan Bell<\/a><\/strong>\n    \n          <span class=\"post-date-field\">March 8, 2013<\/span>\n      <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--social-share \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--social-share\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n  <div class=\"content-wrapper\">\n    <span class=\"a2a_kit a2a_kit_size_32 addtoany_list\" style=\"line-height: 32px;\">\n      <span class=\"title\">\n        Share\n      <\/span>\n                        <a class=\"a2a_button_copy_link\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"\/#copy_link\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" title=\"Link\">\n            <span class=\"a2a_svg a2a_s__default a2a_s_copy_link\">\n              <svg height=\"19\" viewBox=\"0 0 19 19\" width=\"19\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m7.43475275 9.52380952-2.17490843 2.26076008c-1.08745421 1.058837-1.68841575 2.518315-1.68841575 4.0350275 0 1.5167124.60096154 2.9475732 1.68841575 4.0350274 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xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\"><path d=\"m8.14285714 9.42857143c-.17142857 0-.34285714 0-.51428571.08571428l7.28571427 6.34285719c.3428572.2571428.6857143.2571428.9428572 0l7.2857142-6.34285719c-.0857142-.08571428-.2571428-.08571428-.4285714-.08571428zm-1.28571428 1.11428567v.1714286 8.5714286c0 .6857143.6 1.2857143 1.28571428 1.2857143h14.57142856c.6857143 0 1.2857143-.6 1.2857143-1.2857143v-8.5714286c0-.0857143 0-.0857143 0-.1714286l-7.2 6.3428572c-.7714286.6857143-1.8857143.6857143-2.6571429 0z\" fill-rule=\"evenodd\" transform=\"translate(-6 -9)\"\/><\/svg>\n            <\/span>\n            <span class=\"a2a_label visually-hidden\">Email<\/span>\n          <\/a>\n                  <\/span>\n  <\/div>\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n \n\n\n\n  \n    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n<div\n  class=\"cc--component-container cc--rich-text \"\n\n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  >\n  <div class=\"c--component c--rich-text\"\n    \n      >\n\n    \n      \n<div class=\"f--field f--wysiwyg\">\n\n    \n  <p>Jose Araujo had never considered going to graduate school for the simple reason he wasn\u2019t aware it existed. The son of a construction worker, Araujo is today a first-generation college student a the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences.<\/p>\n<p>Araujo was attending Cerritos Community College in Norwalk, Calif., when he heard about USC Dornsife\u2019s paid <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/chemistry\/cerritos-internship\/\">Summer Research Internship in Solar Energy<\/a>. He had always loved science and decided to apply. After participating in the eight-week program, the brainchild of USC Dornsife <a href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/chemistry\/\">chemistry<\/a> professors Richard Brutchey, Stephen Bradforth and Mark Thompson, Araujo found his academic ambitions and life goals transformed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI got hands-on experience that helped reinforce my interest in chemistry and made me begin to understand the value of being able to do undergraduate research at school,\u201d Araujo said. \u201cThe program\u00a0definitely motivated me to apply to four-year universities, especially research universities. I also know now that I want to go to graduate school.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The community college transfer student is majoring in chemistry, holds down a job in the chemistry labs and is planning to pursue a graduate degree and career in science. None of that would have happened, he said, if it hadn\u2019t been for that summer internship and the resulting support and mentorship he received from Brutchey and his team.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy family wasn\u2019t against higher education, but they just didn\u2019t know how to be supportive of me being a college student,\u201d Araujo said. \u201cThey weren\u2019t able to offer me advice on universities or transferring or any of that either.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo be honest, I would never even have applied to USC if I hadn\u2019t participated in the program. I always thought going to USC was something unreachable because it\u2019s a private university and I thought it would be too expensive. Even after I was accepted I wasn\u2019t going to come because I didn\u2019t think there was anyway I was going to be able to afford it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Thanks to Brutchey\u2019s encouragement, Araujo applied for and got a generous financial aid package.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/350x225solar2-1338.jpg\" alt=\"Five people smile at the camera.\" width=\"350\" height=\"225\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cerritos Community College student Jose Araujo (far left) participated in the Summer Research Internship in Solar Energy. Also picture (from left): PhD student Priscilla Antunez; Richard Brutchey, associate professor of chemistry; PhD student Jannise Buckley; and Cerritos College student Hannah Hinton.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cHe took some convincing,\u201d Brutchey laughed. \u201cI told him it can\u2019t hurt to try. He did and it worked out. He\u2019s doing really well in his classes, he has been working in my lab, and he\u2019s doing a work-study program \u2014 and managing to do it all successfully.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Founded three years ago by Brutchey, Bradforth and Thompson, the internship program is designed to help minority students in the community college system \u2014 a group that, studies show, is at particularly high risk of dropping out without completing a degree.<\/p>\n<p>Many students in California\u2019s vast community college system, particularly minorities, struggle to graduate or transfer to four-year universities. According to a recent study of California\u2019s community colleges, 80% of Latino and 75% of African American students have not completed a community college degree or certificate after six years.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese statistics made us think about what a tier-one research university like USC could do to help,\u201d said Brutchey, associate professor of chemistry. \u201cWe noticed that while there were many outreach programs in chemical sciences for K-12 students, there was a lack of outreach activity directed toward community college students for physical sciences, and specifically for the chemical sciences.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The program is aimed at recruiting community college students to study fields in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe thought that offering students in this situation an internship in science or engineering might motivate them to continue their studies,\u201d Brutchey said.<\/p>\n<p>Their intuition proved correct. Of the seven students who have participated in the program, two are continuing their studies at community college and five have transferred to four-year universities to major in STEM disciplines. One of those students is going on to pharmacy school.<ins cite=\"mailto:Pamela%20Johnson\" datetime=\"2013-03-07T17:38\"><\/ins><\/p>\n<p>Another, Joseph Mastron, who transferred to USC Dornsife two years ago, will graduate this spring and will enter a PhD program in physical chemistry this fall. He plans to continue his research into photovoltaics, a subject he discovered during his internship.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe program was a life-changing event for me,\u201d said Mastron. \u201cIn fact, it was the best event of my life.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>What he learned in the laboratory was invaluable, he said, and \u201cshaped who I am today.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brutchey said that is the goal: to foster an interest in science and related careers by providing valuable hands on research training and intensive mentoring.<\/p>\n<p>The program\u2019s support was also a motivating factor for Araujo. He said the guidance he received from Brutchey and his mentor, PhD student Priscilla Antunez, a National Science Foundation (NSF) graduate fellow, played a huge role in him transferring to USC Dornsife.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey were very good mentors and patient teachers to me during the research program,\u201d Araujo said. \u201cI chose to transfer to USC Dornsife because I had such a great experience here during the summer internship. I liked the campus, the research and the professors.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The internship is funded by the National Science Foundation and the Research Corporation for Science Advancement (RCSA), a private, independent foundation. Brutchey and Bradforth are both Cottrell Scholars, meaning they have received a major RCSA award that funds excellent scientists who also have a passion for teaching at leading United States research universities.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Los Angeles Community College District, there are roughly 250,000 community college students in the greater Los Angeles area \u2014 one of the highest concentrations in the country.<\/p>\n<p>Brutchey is sympathetic to what he believes are the underlying reasons why so many community college students are struggling to remain in higher education.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany of these students are in really difficult positions: They have to work, many of them have families, they have real lives on top of trying to attend school, so that\u2019s probably why so many of them struggle. It\u2019s a lot to handle,\u201d he said. \u201cSo the first thing we decided was to make this a paid internship with the hope that the stipend we offer encourages them to do this, rather than take a side job for the summer.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The outreach program currently focuses on Cerritos Community College (CCC). Located in south east L.A. County, CCC reportedly has the sixth largest population of Latino community college students in the nation. Brutchey and his colleagues work closely with CCC Chemistry Professor Jeff Bradbury, who helps select the students.<\/p>\n<p>To be eligible, students must be majoring in a scientific discipline and have completed a first-year chemistry course. Minorities and women, generally underrepresented in the physical sciences, are especially encouraged to apply.<\/p>\n<p>The USC Dornsife professors chose solar cell research as the focus of the research internship.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"width: 350px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/7\/migration-uploads\/350x275solar3-1338.jpg\" alt=\"Two cars are parked under a semi-transparent canopy.\" width=\"350\" height=\"275\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Participants in USC Dornsife\u2019s Summer Research Internship in Solar Energy design and make new molecules and materials for use in photovoltaic technology like this French photovoltaic SUDI shade used to charge electric vehicles.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThere is a core group of faculty within the chemistry department who work in this area and we thought it was an attractive topic for these students because it\u2019s familiar to them,\u201d Brutchey said.<\/p>\n<p>By focusing on solar cell research, students also learn a great deal about nanoscience \u2014 a hot topic across a broad spectrum of cutting-edge chemistry and physics.<\/p>\n<p>Program participants work with USC researchers to design and synthesize new molecules and materials for use in \u201corganic\u201d \u2014 basically plastic and therefore relatively affordable \u2014 photovoltaic technology. (\u201cPhotovoltaic\u201d refers to the direct conversion of light into electricity.) In the process, students develop a firsthand understanding of the physical processes of energy capture, efficient energy conversion from sunlight to electricity and electrical charge collection.<\/p>\n<p>The internship also touches on topics such as scientific ethics, implementing the scientific method in the research laboratory and career opportunities for scientists and engineers.<\/p>\n<p>Brutchey and his colleagues certainly had no problem getting students interested in the program.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEvery year we go to CCC and give a general seminar on the world energy crisis, how alternative energy can help alleviate some of these problems and how solar cells can be part of the solution. We hold it during the lunch break and it\u2019s open to all students. We\u2019ve had great success attracting students to this lecture with upwards of a couple of hundred students showing up just out of general interest<ins cite=\"mailto:Pamela%20Johnson\" datetime=\"2013-03-06T13:54\">.<\/ins>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Upon the students\u2019 arrival at USC, Brutchey lets them know what he expects.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWorking in academia, working in a research lab is certainly different than working at a convenience store but we expect them to treat this as a job,\u201d Brutchey said. \u201cThey have a research supervisor. We expect them to keep regular hours and put in 40 hours a week. And at the end we ask them to give a 15-minute research presentation of their data in front of their mentors and USC Dornsife and CCC faculty.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll the students are able to meet these expectations and surpass them in many cases.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Several former interns have published peer review papers and presented their work to national meetings of the American Chemical Society. Every student who has completed their units at Cerritos College has transferred to a four-year university, and all have majored in a STEM discipline.<\/p>\n<p>James Gentile, former president and CEO of RCSA, one of the program\u2019s funders, underscored the importance of outreach efforts such as this one.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAmerican demographics are changing, and meanwhile many other nations are going to great lengths to improve their science education as well as their basic research programs,\u201d Gentile said. \u201cIf America hopes to remain first among equals in science and technology throughout the coming century, we must encourage more women and minorities to become scientists. Developing superb science education opportunities such as the one at USC is a cornerstone of that effort.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Encouraging undergraduate students to work with scientists such as Brutchey, Bradforth and Thompson is the best way to create the next generation of American scientists, Gentile said. Incorporating students into working lab investigations teaches them how to think like scientists when facing the unknown. In addition, students working with scientists in advanced experimental settings generally have at least a two-year head start over other students learning from textbooks when it comes to acquiring the most up-to-date knowledge in a given field.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is critically important, both for the state and for the national economy, to do whatever we can to get students interested in science, math and engineering,\u201d Brutchey said.\u00a0 \u201cAt some small level I think we are accomplishing that in this program.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n  <\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A paid summer research internship program created by professors in USC Dornsife\u2019s chemistry department is proving successful in motivating academically at risk community college students to major in STEM subjects at four-year universities.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":20691,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[78,289,1314,852,60,1135,299],"class_list":["post-9814","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-student","tag-chemistry","tag-internships","tag-mark-thompson","tag-national-science-foundation","tag-research","tag-richard-brutchey","tag-stephen-bradforth"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.1.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Climbing the STEM of Success<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dornsife.usc.edu\/news\/stories\/climbing-the-stem-of-success\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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