Riverdale, NY – Since 2014, Manhattan College’s STAR (Scholar Training and Retaining) Program has worked to support and promote engineering education for middle and high school teachers.
The program was made possible by a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF). It provides a group of Manhattan engineering and education students – the Engineering Ambassadors – the opportunity to present workshops on opportunities available in STEM-related fields at local middle and high school schools that serve underrepresented groups.
The Engineering Ambassadors program puts students in real-life situations where they have to design and present lessons to junior high school and high school students. The aim is to provide first-hand teaching experience while improving their professional skills. Kelly Grogan ’19, a civil engineering major, took advantage of this program to explore careers in both engineering and education.
“I loved my education classes,” Grogan said. “I learned a lot about the way people learned. I even think I look at my professors differently now from my classes.” Grogan will graduate this May through the STAR program and receive a certificate in engineering education.