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Date: 10/18/2023
WESTFIELD — Professors in the science and math departments of Westfield State University are excited about a nearly $1 million S-STEM scholarship grant opportunity from the National Science Foundation that will not only change the equation for low-income students desiring to enter the scientific fields, but has already changed the way they themselves look at their roles as educators.
Over five years, the grant will fund at least 12 full-time students pursuing biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental science and math for up to $13,000 per year for four years of study. Six students are anticipated to start in the fall of 2024, and six in the fall of 2025.
The grant is intended to help recruit a more diverse student body, and to help pay for their unmet expenses beyond financial aid, including their residences in dormitories. The local program will be called “A Roadmap to Success in STEM: Mental Wellbeing, Academic and Professional Development Supports Program,” or MAP.
Biology professors Mao-Lun Weng and Kimberly Berman said it took three submissions for the university to win the grant. At first, they only applied on behalf of the biology department, before expanding into the other sciences, where they were joined by chemistry professor Subramanain Vaitheeswaran and math professor Jesse Johnson in the application.
Berman said she believes that when Weng added a mental health component to the grant, that set them apart. She said at the same time, the university’s counseling center was seeking to expand its services to name a liaison in each department.
“Everything came together at the same time,” Berman said.
Weng said next year, the university is also changing its general education requirements to be more intentional and more integral to the students’ courses of study.
The students that receive the NSF grant will take general education classes together. He said studies show that peer mentoring is necessary for students to stay in STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — fields. At the same time, the NSF wants the university to support the students, but not put extra expectations on them.
“We cannot require internships, for example. We can’t require social events,” he said.
Incoming full-time first-year Westfield State University students pursuing bachelor’s degrees in biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental science and mathematics are eligible to apply. Students must also financial need, as demonstrated by qualifying for Pell Grants, and an average GPA equal to or higher than a 2.8. Eligible students who qualify for admission to WSU will be told about the grant opportunity, and asked to submit an essay on why they want to apply for the scholarship.
Weng said the ultimate goal is to get rid of all of the financial burden for the students, who can then focus on learning and the transition to university life. He said NSF believes that family and financial pressures are standing in the way of expanding the STEM workforce and making it more diverse.
“That’s why cohort building is really important. There will be a designated faculty mentor for each major, and mindfulness support to ease their anxiety,” Weng said.
Berman said most of her students have jobs while in school.
“They are working so much, and struggling to keep up with their work at the university. This scholarship will really help these students,” she said.
The program will also support students in other ways, such as helping them apply for prestigious REU — Research Experience for Undergraduates — in their junior year, which Weng said are important for the STEM workforce, and are paid internships. He said these opportunities are very competitive, and will boost a student’s profile.
Vaitheeswaran said the STEM workforce is very much in demand. He said Massachusetts has a prominent biotech sector, for example. That field requires training not just in biology, but chemistry and other fields.
“When we submitted the proposal, a workforce study in the state showed a high demand in these fields,” Weng said.
The grant does not include health sciences, nursing or education. Berman said there are other grants for those fields.
Berman said Westfield State University conducted a pilot program last summer, called Project On Ramp, which offered five paid spots for Pell-eligible summer interns at biotech companies in Boston. The university plans to continue the program next summer.
Another area being incorporated into the program is CURCA, the Center for Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities. Students who complete a project in their first year of college, for example, will have an opportunity to give a formal conference presentation at the center. Weng said when it happens earlier on in a college career, it has a bigger impact on the student.
He said the biology department has semester-long projects embedded in the lab courses, which will offer a CURCA presentation opportunity in the first year of college.
Berman said the process of applying for the S-STEM grant has already changed all of them.
“When we were researching for this grant, everything we learned has already impacted how we approach certain things,” she said.
The professors said the university already has many support systems which do a great job, but sometimes students feel overwhelmed by the number of programs and are unsure how to contact them. They plan to make a more coherent presentation on ways to access the supports, and be made aware of the opportunities.
The faculty will also participate, even before the students come. Working with the mindfulness leader at the Interfaith Center, they will go through it first.
“We have to walk the talk in the sciences,” Vaitheeswaran said.
A recent survey of students has shown that since the coronavirus pandemic, students are struggling with mental health.
“Since COVID, it’s much worse for all students. College has always been stressful, but it’s much worse,” said Vaitheeswaran. “We could make the environment more welcoming, and offer mindfulness support before it becomes a crisis, so they don’t feel alone when stressed.
“We want to change the atmosphere, leveraging programs that exist, to say it’s OK to ask for help. We’re building a community,” Weng said. He said for undergraduate students, this will be “a sprinkle, a seed,” that he called more welcoming and inclusive.
“You will be supported if you come to Westfield State University,” Weng said, adding that all of the STEM departments on campus are really welcoming and supportive.
Vaitheeswaran said there has always been a workaholic culture in the STEM fields.
“It’s so true in STEM, the culture of the workaholic — if you’re not working on weekends, you’re a slacker.”
He said as professors there is a realization that their lives are not just their own. Berman said the process has already changed the way she relates to her students. She finds herself talking more in class about the things she does to unwind.
“I say I’m really busy, but I try not to show the stress in class.”
Asked if they would have liked that support as students, Vaitheeswaran said he would have loved it.
Professional development is another part of the grant, and the professors will be working with an external evaluator contracted by the NSF to review the program’s progress.
“We’ll learn a lot about what works well,” Berman said.
“Westfield State is committed to providing our students with the technical skills that will help them apply innovative techniques required to contribute to a 21st century world. We are grateful to the National Science Foundation for recognizing our dedication in offering our students multi-level support while they pursue their goals in STEM,” said Westfield State University President Linda Thompson.
For more information on the S-STEM grant, visit westfield.ma.edu/S-STEM.