1st Annual STEM Advantage Fundraiser

 

"Congratulations on a successful event! The amount you raised for your first effort is amazing!"

 

"The event was absolutely terrific! My husband and I had a ball. It was great to get to visit with the STEM students, as well as, connect with old friends!"

 

Our first fundraiser was a resounding success! Thanks to our amazing sponsors and guests we 'netted' almost $50,000 to help fund scholarships. Close to 170 guests enjoyed a great venue, wine, Tangarita's, and delicious food, as they mingled with old friends, made new friends and met our 12 STEM Advantage Scholars.

 

As you can see from some of the photos, our guests had a unique opportunity to have their picture taken in front of the Endeavour. To see more photos: CLICK HERE. 

 

 

 

   

During the program, four scholars shared their stories:

• Reymarie and Rosalie are aspiring software developers and best friends. They are doing internships at Toyota.
• Emily and Erica are homeland security majors. Emily is an intern at DIRECTV, and Erica is an intern at Hispanic Scholarship Fund.

Ron Guerrier, CIO at Toyota Financial Services shared his inspiring personal story. As well, 

Dr. Willie J. Hagan, President of California State University Dominguez Hills, shared his appreciation to everyone for supporting these promising students to pursue their dreams and graduate with less student debt. Again, we'd like to thank our guests and sponsors.

 

PLATINUM PRESENTING SPONSOR:

 

GOLD SPONSORS:

 Anonymous

 

SILVER SPONSORS: 

  

  

We are honored to announce the selection of 12 STEM Advantage Scholars for our inaugural year. Initially we planned to select 5 to 7 students. However, the quality of applicants, their applications and essays exceeded all our expectations. Their stories are inspiring. When we met and talked with the students, we knew that we had to stretch and find a way to fund 12 scholarships. 

The STEM Advantage program is comprised of three key components - paid internship, mentoring and full scholarship for tuition, fees and books for one year, which is renewable. This 360 degree approach helps promising scholars pursuing a bachelor's degree in a STEM discipline land their first position after graduation and pursue their dreams with less student debt. 

As our mission is to mentor, prepare and inspire young women and underserved communities, people often ask us about demographics and ethnicity. Our 12 Scholars include: 

• 6 women and 6 men 
• 2 African American, 2 Hispanic, 2 Asian, 1 Cambodian-American, 1 Pacific Islander, 4 Caucasian  

We'll profile the STEM Advantage Scholars in our newsletter and soon post profiles on our website. Meet Emily and Erica...

Name: Emily S. Year:   Junior Major: Computer Technology Goal:   Upon graduation, I hope to receive a position in a Cyber Security Defense department. It would be a dream come true if it were to be counter attacking cyber terrorism on the federal level Internship: DIRECTV "I believe that being a part of this program will help me gain experience and skills that will make me stand out from the average student"

Name: Erica T. Year:   Junior Major: Computer Technology/Homeland Security Goal:   My major has an emphasis on homeland security; I would like to use these skills to work in a cyber-security position Internship: Hispanic Scholarship Fund "This program will award me the opportunity to receive mentoring from professionals of great companies, and to participate in internships that will allow me to grow and develop professionally"

INTERNSHIPS

Mentor/mentee kickoff

We kicked off the STEM Advantage Mentoring program on April 19th with a kick-off reception. Mentors met their paired STEM Advantage Scholar for the first time and had an opportunity to get to know each other.  

 

We provided a mentoring worksheet to help document goals and expectations for the year-long program, mentee strengths and areas for growth. In addition, they ranked priority topics in the following categories: school success, internship success, career development and interpersonal effectiveness. 

 

Special thanks to our mentors for caring and giving their time to support, coach and encourage young people. We have a great group of mentors from the IT industry that are committing their time to work with our scholars on an individual basis.

 

Now that Finals are over, we're planning a Workplace Etiquette Workshop to help the students prepare for their internships. We are opening this session up to all students in the Computer Science department at CSU Dominguez Hills. 

 

If you would like to be a mentor, please contact Michelle Elkins at [email protected]. While our 12 scholars have mentors, we believe there is tremendous value in offering mentors to students who might want to apply for the STEM Advantage program next year.  

 

To view past newsletters, please visit our website:
www.stemadvantage.org