Aydan Wynos, Adam Page and Shay Hoffman in front of the Old Capitol Building on The University of Iowa’s Campus
Cedar Rapids, Iowa (June 23, 2015)–Kirkwood Community College students in the LSAMP (Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation)-IINSPIRE (Iowa Illinois Nebraska STEM Partnership in Research and Education) program are conducting scientific research this summer at four-year academic institutions working alongside graduate and research experienced undergraduate students. Participating students must meet grant requirements and submit a formal application for acceptance to the summer research opportunity.
LSAMP-IINSPIRE is a five-year grant program funded through the National Science Foundation and administered through the Math and Science department at Kirkwood. The grant provides programming and support for increasing participation of underrepresented minority students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) fields.
“I knew we needed to organize and find a way to fill the achievement gap by encouraging underrepresented minorities to seek careers and take classes in the STEM fields,” said Juanita Limas, science instructor and campus director of LSAMP at Kirkwood. “Kirkwood has 13.4 percent of our student population self-identifying as underrepresented minorities, but less than two percent of those pursue STEM fields. That is why Kirkwood was asked to join the LSAMP initiative. We were identified as a potential target institution where big changes could be made to try to reverse those numbers.”
The six participating students include Latayshia Lacey with genetics research at Iowa State University (ISU); Mechelle Johnson with chemical oceanography research at California State University; Adam Page with diabetes research at the University of Iowa (U of I); Elias De Haro with laminate particle research at ISU; Aydan Wynos with IT and demand response research at the U of I; and Shay Hoffman with environmental science research at the U of I.
When these six students return to Kirkwood in the fall, they will be making presentations to incoming Kirkwood students with an interest in STEM-focused classes. They will also serve as mentors for new students entering Kirkwood’s LSAMP-IINSPIRE program.