Joining with other community colleges in Orange County, Santiago Canyon College has launched its new MESA program this fall, offering multiple benefits for eligible students.
MESA, which stands for math, engineering, science achievement, is a California-funded program that supports students majoring in those areas who come from underrepresented and economically disadvantaged groups.
“The goal is to increase the rate of first-generation, low-income students pursuing a STEM degree,” said Jessica Ochoa, who coordinates the program at SCC, which began accepting applications last spring. “It’s to help close those gaps and to prepare them to transfer to a four-year university by providing academic support, extra resources and exposure to industry partnerships and four-year universities.”
Ochoa noted enrollment is at 60 students this semester. “It’s been great. Students who had heard of MESA from friends at different campuses were excited to hear about the program coming to SCC.”
In addition to academic support, the program provides students with free equipment such as lab coats, goggles and some textbooks. There is a dedicated MESA center on campus for workshops, tutoring and group study.
“It’s also a place to de-stress,” said Ochoa, adding that tea breaks and pizza nights are offered at the center during finals. These activities are “a way to start building community among STEM students and peer-to-peer engagement,” she said. “Quite a few students bring their friends to come and study here.”
Eduardo Garcia, 19, a second-year student at SCC who majors in mechanical engineering, said he’s already benefited from several aspects of the MESA program.
“What I’ve always wanted was to transfer to a four-year,” he said. After joining MESA, he met with a counselor who opened his eyes to internship and research opportunities. “It was actually very good — I’m on pace to transfer, but I realized there were classes that I could take to give me a better chance to get into these universities.”
Garcia’s top choices are UC Santa Barbara and UC San Diego, among others he’s applying to.
At MESA program workshops, Garcia learned about networking skills and how to create a resume. He gives back by tutoring other STEM students in the program and has organized his own workshops to help students with subjects such as calculus.
MESA programs are offered at California State Universities and University of California schools as well as community colleges. MESA students at SCC have already gone on field trips designed to familiarize them with future education and career opportunities — and to meet other MESA and STEM students as well as working professionals.
Recent trips have included tours of California Institute of Technology and the JPL NASA facility and a visit to the future-engineers conference at San Jose State University College of Engineering. Students also visited Cal Poly Pomona’s College of Engineering and Computer Science, where they met with professors and current students. And a visit to UC San Diego’s undergraduate research program enabled SCC students to connect with other students there and hear about undergraduate research opportunities.
“The target is that students will say, ‘Hey, this is fun for me. This is do-able, I belong here and I can be successful,’ ” said Martin Stringer, dean of SCC’s mathematics and science division, who oversees MESA. “The program is extremely important, especially for a Hispanic-serving institution, to be able to offer these resources and opportunities.”
All students in SCC’s MESA program must be STEM majors, and while some arrive with a clear idea of their area of interest, such as biology or chemistry, some do not — and the program shows them the many educational avenues available. Ochoa invites guest speakers to describe to students various career opportunities in STEM fields.
Faculty members are integral to the program, which is considered academic enrichment. Math professors help out in academic excellence workshops and collaborate with student tutors. Several chemistry professors hold their office hours in the MESA center to support those students. Faculty members who act as chaperones for field trips are able to build rapport with students. And the program has a faculty sponsor who represents MESA at division meetings.
“The collaboration has been great,” Ochoa said.
The MESA program at SCC has the capacity to serve 125 students.
“We’re proud to say that even before we’ve hit our one-year mark, we’re at 60 students,” said Stringer. Ochoa hopes the program continues to grow and that by spreading news about it, via advertising and word of mouth, more eligible students will learn about it and apply.