传递爱

For Pontiac International Technology Academy graduates Rubi罗德里格斯, 杰德·汉弗莱和多诺万·赫尔南德斯, 这段旅程又回到了原点. 从OU-Pontiac STEM营来到SECS, the three upperclassmen are now also employees of the SECS 外展 Program, paying it forward by working with underprivileged and underrepresented youth.

“Children shouldn’t fear their imagination of creating something that they believe will change the world. 孩子们不应该相信有限制,罗德里格斯说。, 公开大学即将毕业的大四学生, 讲述她在SECS外展计划中的经验.

在庞蒂亚克的一个西班牙裔家庭长大, 五个孩子中的第四个, 罗德里格斯 knew firsthand how limited educational opportunities could be for minority students. So, when OU-Pontiac STEM Camp was offered to her as a high school student, she was all in.

“For someone 像我这样的, 谁 likes science and engineering, it was an incredible opportunity. Not every high school student receives it, and I was fortunate that I did,罗德里格斯说.

最初叫做“你能做到”!这个营地是由克里斯·科布斯博士(Chris Kobus)创建的.D., SECS director of outreach, recruitment and retention, in partnership with Pontiac Schools. 起初, 夏令营为期两周，为期半天, 但是到了2013年, 这是一个为期四周的夏令营，探索所有的工程学科.

“The goal of the camp was to expose Pontiac youth to a STEM career path. 他们还可以获得经济援助. We hoped that most of the participants would choose a STEM path and some might choose OU to get there,” Dr. Kobus说.

罗德里格斯和OU大三学生, 汉弗莱和埃尔南德斯, certainly credit the OU-Pontiac camp with giving them a head start in considering their path to college.

“I wanted to take advantage of the opportunities that my parents didn't have. Neither of them even finished high school,” explains 埃尔南德斯, a mechanical engineering major. “营地的气氛绝对让我着迷. 这是一个鼓励好奇心和试验的地方.”

玉汉弗莱, 谁现在主修生物学, says that OU was the only university that reached out to the schools in Pontiac. “我觉得我们对他们很重要. The camp made it possible for me to learn more about engineering and the exciting options SECS offered in this field,她补充道.

Being given the opportunity to experience the life-changing power of education, the three students are all about giving the same opportunity to others.

“Just taking the engineering courses at OU and attending activities on campus make me realize that I am still a minority as a Hispanic female. Programs that work with minorities to uncover their potential make me want to help, too; I want to help the youth of my community,罗德里格斯说.

埃尔南德斯, 谁 has been a student employee for the SECS 外展 Program since he was enrolled at OU, developed his own modules to teach in the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP) PAAMEE (Preparing African American Males for Energy and Education). 他是学生领袖, teaching cohorts of Detroit students that come to campus as Saturday commuters.

“They remind me of myself as a young student 谁 had a lot of potential, 但如果没有合适的出口，我什么都做不了. Being able to give other kids the same experience that I had years ago is what makes me really proud,埃尔南德斯说, 谁 was recently recognized with the Keeper of the Dream Award for his contributions to interracial understanding and goodwill through his work with DAPCEP.

对于三个学生, working on SECS 外展 Program initiatives has been an important life experience that helped them grow personally and professionally.

汉弗莱回忆起她在这个项目工作的第一个夏天, she taught electrical engineering to a group of middle schoolers and one of the children was very intrigued by it. When, two years later, she saw him again, he was the lead electrical member of his robotics team. “That meant a lot to me to see that I was able to inspire someone,” Humphrey says.

埃尔南德斯 remembers multiple experiences with minority children 谁 could identify with his Hispanic background. “很多时候，他们感到害羞，因为他们觉得有点被忽视了. Seeing their faces light up when I help them do whatever activity I’m teaching while speaking their native language made me realize how important it is to understand 谁 people are,他解释道.

对罗德里格斯, working with the SECS 外展 Program was a turning point in her decision to change her major from engineering to communication. “To become more vocal in my community and to help shine the light on other students, 谁, 像我这样的, 选择打破庞蒂亚克学生的刻板印象, I want to be more connected with Pontiac through the Pontiac Initiative,罗德里格斯说.

目前, SECS外展计划涉及超过4个国家,000名K-12学生, 谁来开放大学参加夏令营, STEM实地考察或数学和科学准备研讨会.

“外展计划在过去十年中发展迅速, 在新的工程中心的帮助下, 哪里有更多的空间进行编程. A good number of our participants are underrepresented and underserved students. When some of these students come to OU and become part of our staff so that they can encourage the next generation, 能见证这一切是我的荣幸,博士说。. Kobus.

因为他们期待着毕业, 罗德里格斯, 汉弗莱和埃尔南德斯 know that a child’s success is often one caring adult away. 为他们, the SECS 外展 Program was the caring adult that opened up a 谁le new world of opportunities.