MCC Daily Tribune

MCC Upward Bound Students Participate in STEM Workshops over the Summer

Over the past three years, the staff of the MCC Upward Bound Programs (UB@MCC) has made a conscious effort to build the math and science confidence and skills of the first generation and low income population that it serves.

This summer, a one-time STEM supplement from the United States Department of Education TRIO programs funded a collaboration with various MCC departments that provided hands-on workshops to UB@MCC participants. The goal of the collaboration was to ensure effective exposure to STEM careers for UB participants, and to increase faculty confidence with our student population. An unexpected benefit was the MCC student internship opportunities that the grant provided; this allowed smaller intensive group interactions. The summer experiences were mutually beneficial for the MCC faculty, UB staff, MCC student interns and UB participants. Over the next days there will be articles highlighting the experiences that we had on the Downtown, Brighton and Applied Technology Center campuses this summer.

On the Brighton Campus students received hands-on experience in surgery technology and nursing practices with the Nursing Department. They learned how to "scrub-in" to prepare for a surgery and the importance of cleanliness to patients' health. Students also got to observe virtual laparoscopic surgery using special instruments. Finally, students prepared the materials for a surgery and practiced handing instruments to the surgeon. During the nursing workshop, students learned how to find the blood pressure of a patient, practiced putting an IV into a dummy, and learned CPR. The majority of the UB students really loved the opportunity to participate in this particular experience. Special thanks to Colleen Caruana, Audrey Shafer, Mary Combs and Mary Seely who planned and led all of these hands-on experiences for our participants.

We will highlight the experiences on the Downtown Campus tomorrow.

Melea Jones
Upward Bound
11/06/2019