Foothill College has over 15,000 enrolled students from across northern Santa Clara county. The college offers 166 degrees and certificates, including a highly regarded Science department with 25 Associate Degrees, 8 Associate Degrees for transfer, and one Bachelor Degree in a range of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) fields. There is also an extensive range of Certificates offered across a range of STEM subjects.
The reputation that Foothill College has forged is in no small part due to the quality of the educators they have on staff. STEM-Away® is delighted to be working in collaboration with Foothill College, and in particular, with Dr. Lori Silverman, previously Math Professor at Foothill College and now Dean of Science, Engineering, and Math at Ohlone College, and Dean Ram Subramaniam, Dean of STEM at Foothill College.
During her time at Foothill College, Lori played a crucial role in the development of the STEM-Away® platform. STEM-Away® has a goal of reducing the barriers to opportunity for students seeking to access careers in STEM fields. One of the most essential tools for students is to have access to meaningful projects to develop relevant skills. This is especially true for students from community colleges who tend to have limited internship opportunities.
To address this issue, STEM-Away® provides students with high-quality projects through the Mentor-Chains® Project program. Lori and the first intake of students from Foothill College helped to shape the Mentor-Chains® Program. Learn more about the pilot Mentor Chains® Project: Career Statistics Tool. The immense success of the first intake showed the value the program can offer to students.
Ram has built on the early successes of the partnership and is driving matching Foothill students with the relevant parts of the STEM-Away® platform. Helping his students fulfill their potential has long been his goal. Ram sees the STEM-AWAY® platform as providing a unique opportunity to get students ready to take on future roles in STEM. Hear directly from the first crop of Foothill students: Chris Volar and Mentor Chains® Leads: Ashwin Chalaka & Mila Arias.
The resources available in the STEMCasts® and STEM-Forums® are an opportunity to both inspire and educate. Students can integrate STEM-Away® education and projects with their learning experience from outside the platform. The skills and expertise that students accumulate can be displayed in the revolutionary 1-click® Resume, which empowers STEM-Away® members to showcase these highly valued skills and abilities to top tier STEM hiring companies.
STEM-Away® shares a vision with Ram and Lori, and other dedicated educators like them. The opportunities that a booming STEM industry brings should be open to all. Thanks to their help, feedback, and support, the STEM-Away® platform is helping students from all walks of life to take their place in STEM careers with confidence.
If you are an educator and would like your students to have the same exciting opportunities as Lori and Ram’s students at Foothill College, please visit the STEM-Away® website today for more information.