Pictured Above (left to right): Jada Henderson, Amajae Williams and Sydney Burks
UTICA – Three Hinds Community College Utica campus STEM-UP students and a college Dean presented at a state conference in Biloxi.
The 86th Annual Meeting of the Mississippi Academy of Sciences (MAS) began on Thursday, March 31, at the Mississippi Coast Convention Center in Biloxi.
Sophomores Sydney Burks, Jada Henderson and Amaje Williams presented their research during the meeting. Dean of Career and Technical Education Jonathan Townes will also be speaking at the event. Townes said this gives our students an extra bit of experience.
“With us not being a research institution, it is important for STEM majoring students to participate in events like this because it not only allows them to interact with other students at four-year institutions but also learn about the opportunities aligned with scientific research. Conferences such as this aid in students obtaining STEM degrees as well as going into the STEM workforce,” Townes said.
The Utica Campus is part of the Louis Stokes Mississippi Alliance for Minority Participation (LSMAMP) program. This program is a statewide program supported by the National Science Foundation designed to prepare underrepresented minority students who major in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Every year, the students in the STEM-UP Academy on campus conduct summer research at one of the other four year institutions that are also in the program. After all the research is complete they present during this conference.
“Although only three STEM-UP Academy students are presenting in the poster presentation category, the other STEM-UP Academy students will be in attendance cheering on their peers. Moreover, there are different levels of STEM represented at the MS Academy of Sciences, and I want ALL of the Hinds Community College-Utica STEM-UP Academy students to bask in the exposure of the knowledge transfer of the keynote speaker and the oral session presenters,” said Dr. Carrie Kirkland, STEM Coordinator on the Utica Campus.