STEM Students Branch Out

SDSUs MESA Program has supported STEM students for more than 30 years.

By Jayla Lee
Thursday, December 29, 2016
SDSUs MESA students pose with NASA astronaut Commander Victor Glover at the MESA Student Leadership Conference. (Photo: Danielle McNamara)
SDSUs MESA students pose with NASA astronaut Commander Victor Glover at the MESA Student Leadership Conference. (Photo: Danielle McNamara)
For three decades, San Diego State University's MESA Program (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) has provided support to the university’s STEM students. The organization assists underserved students in becoming engineers and physical science professionals who are needed by the STEM industry in the global marketplace.

The program provides participants with academic support, out-of-classroom experiences, and industry and alumni engagement. Participants gain professional development through engaging in “high-impact” experiences, including learning communities, undergraduate research and internships.

“The SDSU MESA Program has contributed to STEM diversity efforts in the San Diego community for more than 30 years, and it will continue to do so with the support of alumni, industry, and program and grant partnerships,” said Natasha Celise, MESA Program director.

Semester highlights

  • The 13th Annual MESA Student Leadership Conference: Students attended an invitation-only event in Silicon Valley, where they participated in STEM challenges, mock interviews, workshops, and networking opportunities with industry representatives from San Diego Gas and Electric, Tesla, Intel and LinkedIn.

    Student attendees to the conference included:

    Sara Arredondo – mechanical engineering, sophomore
    Christian De La Torre – mechanical engineering and computer science, sophomore
    Kristine Dinh – statistics, junior
    Yessika Gamala – civil engineering, sophomore
    Haram Nguyen – mechanical engineering, junior
    Jimmie Salazar Acevedo – mechanical engineering, sophomore
  • MESA Research Academy: SDSU and community college students were introduced to undergraduate research in collaboration with California Space Grant Consortium and SDSU’s Center for Sensorimotor Neural Engineering.
  • Annual Shadow Day Program: Local STEM companies provided students with an opportunity to test the waters in a field of their interest and see first-hand how classroom skills relate to the workplace.
  • Training Academies hosted by Solar Turbines, SPAWAR and Northrop Grumman: Companies provided in-house training to MESA students, who also learned technical or soft skill sets to enhance their employability.
  • MESA STEM Learning Community: Freshmen took a seminar class and received additional instruction in their math and science courses through Academic Excellence Workshops, fostering community and student success.

What's next

  • We Are STEM: “A female experience” for pre-college students: Feb. 16, 2017
  • 15th Annual MESA Leadership Summit: March 3-5, 2017
  • 34th annual Graduation and Scholarship Reception: April 28, 2017
For more information on SDSU’S MESA Program, visit their website.
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College of SciencesAztec LifeSolutionsCollege of Engineering