Maintaining a prolonged interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics can sometimes be hard for students who do not fully understand what those subjects entail. The STEM Center at the University of Houston, which was founded in 2013 by former astronaut Bonnie Dunbar in collaboration with the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics and Cullen College of Engineering, aims to prevent this from happening.

“The mission is to attract, retain and support diverse students especially who are under-resourced on a local, state and national level by giving them an equitable platform to experience STEM,” said Heather Domjan, who serves as the current executive director of the STEM Center.

The center has multiple different programs and outreach opportunities to help get more students involved in STEM before they even start thinking about college. One of their most impactful programs is in collaboration with nonprofit organization Kids Lives Matter International, who can be followed at @kidslivesmatterintl. Together, the two organizations focus on bringing students who live in the Third and Fifth Wards an opportunity to be on campus through STEM Zone Saturday, a hybrid program that engages students across the Southeast Gulf coast region.

“We've collaborated with KLM since 2018 to provide under-resourced students the ability to promote self-efficacy, confidence and the understanding they can attend a college campus despite their circumstances,” Domjan said.

Students enrolled in grades third through twelfth get the opportunity to participate in STEM related activities and interact with different experts in various career fields.

“That's what our STEM Zone Saturday is really a thrust for, is to provide students the ability to interact with professionals and conduct those conversations to ask questions like, ‘What do you do as your STEM career? What was your journey? What was so difficult?’” Domjan said.

To attract more women to the STEM field, the center also hosts Girls Code Academy for students in grades sixth through twelfth. Attendees get the opportunity to learn about game design and development, Python programming language and web development.

"As we know with girls in the computer science field, only 18% persist with degrees which is alarming...," Domjan said. "It helps to increase not only their confidence, but excitement to say, ‘I can code and want to be the next young computer science woman in the field that serves as a role model to the younger generation of girls.’"

Aside from its outreach programs and summer camps, the STEM center also helps students in grades sixth through twelfth through the Science and Engineering Fair of Houston, who can be followed at @sefofhouston. Not only do students have the opportunity to have their projects judged, but a number of industry professionals are there for them to network with.

“There is that ability for students to have that extension of meeting individuals who are in a career and to be able to speak with them candidly about not only their projects, but their career interests too,” said Lionnel Ronduen, who serves as the STEM Center's program manager and associate director of the fair.

Students also have the opportunity to take their interest all the way into space. For example, the Mars Rover Celebration encourages third through eighth grade students to conduct authentic research about Mars, engineer a rover, and dress up as future scientists and astronauts as they present their findings to industry personnel.

These programs are only a small sampling of the various outreach the center does. More details about all of the individual programs can be found at the centers website, www.uh.edu/stem. Those interested can also follow the program on Facebook and Twitter. Information on the Mars Rover Program and STEM Zone Saturdays can be accessed through MobilCause accounts. For the Mars Rover Program, text Mars to 71-777, visit https://igfn.us/vf/Mars or fill out the form on https://igfn.us/form/e7NClg. For STEM Zone Saturdays, text Zone to 71-777, visit https://igfn.us/vf/Zone or fill out the form on https://igfn.us/form/OVqtjg.

“We strive to develop collaborations and be a comprehensive center that bolsters students' interest in STEM through our programs as they engage with UH Faculty in addition to serving as a conduit for workforce solutions,” Domjan said.

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