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Students from underrepresented backgrounds are often confronted by limited resources and opportunities when pursuing careers in STEM fields.
According to Pew Research Center, despite Hispanics making up to 17% of the total workforce, only 8% of Hispanics are in the STEM fields, and only 3% of these are females in STEM.
But three Santiago Canyon College students, all women from various Latin backgrounds, applied for and earned scholarships to further their education in STEM, an acronym for Science Technology Engineering and Math.
Student Luz Campos Vasquez with Zachary Thammavongsy, chemistry professor at Santiago Canyon College (Photo courtesy of RSCCD Communications)
Student Brianna Castellon presents her work with Cal State Fullerton chemistry professor Andrew Petit. (Photo courtesy of RSCCD Communications)
SCC student Melody Ceme received a scholarship for her work in organic chemistry. (Photo courtesy of RSCCD Communications)
Student Luz Campos Vasquez with Zachary Thammavongsy, chemistry professor at Santiago Canyon College (Photo courtesy of RSCCD Communications)
The three students – Brianna Castellon, Melody Ceme and Luz Campos Vasquez – share another common denominator in addition to gender and ethnicity.
All three were students of SCC chemistry professor Zachary Thammavongsy, who encouraged each of them to apply for STEM-related scholarships and research opportunities.
“All three of them definitely fit the bill for exactly what a research-type student could and should be,” Thammavongsy said. “I’m just glad they heeded my advice and applied. What I find really interesting about them is that even though they’re doing research, they’re doing research in very different fields. They all took chemistry but they span into different fields when they do their research.”
While the three students are no longer in Thammavongsy’s chemistry classes, they have remained in touch with their former professor, keeping him abreast of their research. Likewise, Thammavongsy has also reached out to his former students for updates.
SCC offers a variety of resources for first-generation students and students from underrepresented backgrounds.
Among them is the College Assistance Migrant Program, a federally funded initiative providing eligible students with academic assistance, career planning services, and educational support.
Luz Campos Vasquez
Campos Vasquez s a 26-year-old first-generation college student who was first drawn to STEM subjects as a freshman in high school.
Her mother didn’t go to college, and her father didn’t finish middle school, said Campos Vasquez, whose parents came to the U.S. from Jalisco, Mexico.
As part of the AVID program, a support program for middle and high school students, Campos Vasquez was asked to choose a career.
Campos Vasquez chose mechanical engineering to pay homage to her father, who was an auto mechanic and had recently died.
“And that’s how I got into learning more about mechanical engineering,” Campos Vasquez said. “I (thought) this is actually really, really cool. And I kind of started just sticking to that kind of path. I’m not going to lie, obviously there was obstacles and imposter syndrome. Am I smart enough for this?”
At SCC, Campos Vasquez found support services for first-generation students and encouragement from Thammavongsy.
She also attends Latinas in Engineering conferences.
Campos Vasuez is currently participating in the NASA Community College Aerospace Scholars program, designed to advance students’ knowledge of STEM and STEM-based fields.
NCAS is a virtual program that task students with completing three missions.
For the first mission, students received an overview of NASA’s current operation and plans for the future.
The second mission, which Campos Vasquez recently completed, gives students the opportunity to engage in a simulated mission while learning about NASA’s workplace roles.
Next will be Mission 3, which involves two weeks of online preparation followed by one week at a NASA Field Center.
Campos Vasquez and her fellow scholars will participate in STEM-based activities, including an engineering design challenge, subject-matter-expert presentations, a resume workshop and a networking event.
Campos Vasquez plans to graduate from SCC after the Spring 2025 semester and continue her education at Cal Poly Pomona.
Brianna Castellon
As a Project RAISE scholar, Castellon, a first-generation student from Bolivia, had the opportunity to conduct summer research at Cal State Fullerton.
RAISE is an eight-week summer program representing a partnership between Cal State Fullerton and several community colleges in the region.
Under the direction of CSUF chemistry professor Andrew Petit and his graduate student, Castellon used modern computational tools to gain insights into the relationship between a molecule’s structure and its photochemical function.
At the conclusion of her summer research project, Castellon presented her findings at Cal State Fullerton in the form of a poster.
Castellon was a student in Thammavongsy’s Chemistry 200 class in the Fall 2023 semester and was first drawn to STEM after taking a summer chemistry class at SCC.
Castellon now serves as a chemistry tutor for SCC students.
“There are so many opportunities for first-gen students, and every student should take advantage of them,” Castellon said.
Melody Ceme
Ceme has developed a passion for organic chemistry and performed summer research at UC Irvine under the guidance of chemistry professor Sergey Pronin and his graduate student.
The American Chemical Society defines organic chemistry as the study of the structure, properties, composition, reactions and preparation of carbon-containing compounds.
For her research, Ceme used modern computational tools to gain insights into the relationship between a molecule’s structure and its photochemical function.http://news.fullerton.edu/
Ceme had firsthand experience using modern organic chemistry instruments to analyze her molecules.
Ceme was Thammavongsy’s student in CHEM 280 in the Fall 2023 semester and is now a supplemental instructor, helping to teach other students for an organic chemistry course.
“I know she enjoys organic chemistry very much,” Thammavongsy said. “She is always thinking about organic chemistry problems and how to solve them.”
Ceme plans to attend UC Irvine and is considering medical school for post-graduate studies.
“She got a lot out of (her research at) UC Irvine,” Thammavongsy said. “She still believes, at least from what she told me, that if the medical school doesn’t work out, then she will pursue a Ph.D. in chemistry or just in any field of science.”
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