(left to right) Shelby Weininger and Michele Williams, Interim Executive Director at SECME (Southeastern Consortium for Minorities in Engineering) @ Georgia Tech
Florida Atlantic University’s College of Engineering and Computer Science awarded 25 four-year scholarships to qualified SECME students majoring in one of the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) disciplines at participating high schools in Palm Beach and Broward counties. Participants were honored on Sunday, April 25, 2010 at the 16th annual Celebration of Achievement banquet in Boca Raton, sponsored by the south Florida industry partners.
SECME students selected for the FAU 2010-2011 academic-year award receive $3,000 per year. Students must meet the academic requirements for admission into FAU and have participated in the SECME program in their high school. Erich Landstrom, Seminole Ridge SECME school coordinator nominated Shelby. “Shelby has taken a leadership position in SECME without ever holding an office in the club,” Landstrom said. “During February’s Engineering Week at Florida Atlantic University, Shelby led the opening ceremonies parade with a poster on environmental friendliness she created, and she stayed behind at the end to talk with astronaut Steve Swanson. When Seminole Ridge SECME volunteered to mentor the 1st year SECME program at Pierce Hammock Elementary School, Shelby was the first to arrive and help their girl’s Gold team to build mousetrap cars.”
A highly-effective industry partnership made up of county leaders, industry representatives and school district representatives convenes monthly to plan for the support, development, training and expansion of the program. This group is known as the South Florida Industry Partners for Education. Brenda Simmons, director of FAU’s Division of Engineering Student Services, serves as the SECME director for FAU and chairs the SECME Industry Advisory Board. “It is very rewarding for me to work with the South Florida Industry Partners for Education, Broward County and Palm Beach Public Schools to increase the pool of talented students prepared to enter and succeed in science, technology, engineering and mathematics,” said Simmons. “The SECME program offers exceptional opportunities for K-12 students to learn, achieve, and become excited about engineering and science based careers.”
SECME is a pre-collegiate program whose mission is to increase the number of under-represented minority students qualified to enter and complete courses of study in the STEM disciplines. Since its inception in 1975, the SECME program has helped to increase the number of minority engineers, scientists and mathematicians by enriching students’ academic preparation from grades K-12 while providing experiences to help raise their levels of aspiration. Teacher training is a significant piece of the equation in order for the program to succeed. It is a coordinated effort with 39 universities, 70 corporations and governmental agencies in 15 states, as well as the District of Columbia. FAU became an official SECME university during the 1986-87 academic year.
view SECME spotlight on 2008-2009 SECME Outstanding Student of the Year for Palm Beach County, FL (high school division): Miss Kaitlin Kilpatrick
