ITTA BENA, Miss.— Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) play a huge role in the stability and sustained growth of the world’s economy and is a critical component of today’s educational system.
Mississippi Valley State University is continuing its efforts to help develop the next generation of STEM leaders with the help of a nearly $9.9k grant awarded to the Upward Bound II program through the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Teaching Through Technology (T3) Alliance.
The T3 Alliance grant will assist the program with developing a STEM Lab for Upward Bound II participants. Funding from the grant will help purchase STEM equipment, including a 3-D printer.
According to MVSU Upward Bound II Director Jerome Petty, MVSU is the only Mississippi Upward Bound Program to receive the award.
He believes the enhancements to the program’s STEM education component will assist with cultivating young people who will become the next generation of innovators.
"I am ecstatic for our students because this means they'll be exposed to more opportunities. We've noticed that the more STEM-related activities our students complete, the higher they've scored on the ACT, so we're expecting to see an even more positive impact," Petty said.
In 2018, MVSU’s Upward Bound I & II programs were selected to join the T3 Alliance. In the recent award letter, the programs were applauded for their dedication to implementing the STEM project.
“Thank you for your participation and support of the University of Alaska Fairbanks, Teaching Through Technology (T3) Alliance,” stated Dr. John Monahan, principal investigator for NSF T3 Alliance.
“The project appreciates how diligent you have been in implementing the project. I thank you for your willingness to implement the final stage of embedding a T3 Alliance STEAM Makerspace Lab into your Upward Bound program.”
To learn more about the T3 Alliance, visit www.t3alliance.org.