CSTEP student Dallas Fonseca ’18 and Dr. Orlando-Marquez C. Kittrell, founding director of the Office of State Grants (OSG) both presented to packed rooms at the 25th Annual CSTEP Statewide Student Conference which was held April 7-9, 2017 at The Sagamore on Lake George in Bolton Landing, NY. The theme was "Journeys Beyond Excellence" and included over 500 participants.
Dallas (Mathematics, Biochemistry) was supported with his research presentation by assistant professor Dr. Te-Wen Lo from the Department of Biology in the School of Humanities and Sciences and by assistant professor Zachary Campbell from the Department of Biological Sciences in the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics at the University of Texas at Dallas. Dallas presented “The Role of Specificity in the Emergence of Post-transcriptional Regulons in Germline Development.” Notably, Dallas won the top Life Sciences II award at the conference for his student research presentation.
As the Ithaca College CSTEP Program director, Dr. Kittrell presented “Your Toolbox for STEM Student Success: Are You Softly or Loudly Stepping into CSTEP?” Dr. Kittrell’s research presentation focused on transitional issues that historically underrepresented STEM students encounter while navigating through college. The session explored the daily intention and deliberate work ethic that STEM students should model for contributing to the success of the CSTEP brand, resulting from positive student achievement, persistence, retention, and graduation rates. Dr. Kittrell’s STEM presentation was referenced during Saturday’s lunchtime student ambassador-related activity at the conference.
Ithaca College CSTEP student Steven Cox ’19 (Mathematics, Economics) served as a student ambassador for the conference. Other IC CSTEP students who actively participated in the conference were Jacqueline Alexander ’18 (Biology) and Elisa Godoy ’18 (Exercise Science, Medical Science Emphasis). Tiffany Valentin, IC CSTEP coordinator, served as a judge for the Public Health and Wellness oral research presentations.
The Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP) operate at 55 postsecondary institutions and/or professional schools in New York State based on a competitive 5-year grant awarded by the New York State Department of Education to each institution/school. The purpose of CSTEP is to increase the number of students from underrepresented groups who are pursuing professional licensure and careers in mathematics, science, technology and health-related fields at the collegiate level. There is currently a waitlist for CSTEP participation at Ithaca College. Students are encouraged to submit their interest to tvalentin@ithaca.edu.
OSG provides intrusive academic support services to eligible Ithaca College students participating in the CSTEP, the Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (CSTEM) program, and the Arthur O. Eve Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP). The Ithaca College CSTEP and HEOP programs are funded in part through the Office of Postsecondary Access, Support and Success (OPASS) at the New York State Department of Education.
https://www.ithaca.edu/intercom/article.php/20170410093649503