Progress 09/02/13 to 09/01/17
Outputs
Target Audience:In the last 4 years of the SELF project a total of 51 high school girls from 25 schools (Table 1) have participated in the 3 and ½ days residential summer program filled with a field trip to forest and many hands on activities and group projects and presentations related to renewable energy resources. Focus was on high school sophomore girls from rural communities in Maine. Table 1: Participant breakdown by home town for four years Town 2014 2015 2016 2017 Grand Total 1 Auburn 1 1 2 Bangor 3 4 4 11 3 Buckfield 1 1 4 Caribou 1 1 2 4 5 Dexter 1 1 6 Ellsworth 3 3 7 Frenchville 1 1 8 Houlton 1 1 9 Kitterypoint 1 1 10 Limestone 1 1 11 Litchfeild 1 1 12 Machais 3 3 13 Madawaska 2 2 4 14 Milbridge 1 1 15 Millinocket 1 1 16 New Gloucester 1 1 17 Newburgh 1 1 18 North Berwick 2 2 19 Norway 1 1 20 Orono 1 1 2 21 Portland 1 2 3 22 Waldoboro 1 1 2 23 Wells 1 1 24 West Bethel 1 1 2 25 Winslow 1 1 Grand Total 12 13 13 13 51 Changes/Problems:
Nothing Reported
What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?A total of 13 of the engineering student mentors from UMaine have benefited themselves from the mentoring experience and have kept up on-going contacts with the high school participants through social media platforms like Facebook. UMaine undergraduate and graduate students saw mentoring high school girls during the 3 and half day summer camp as a progessional development opportunity. It was clear that SELF mentors were highly motivated to remain in STEM fields and were successful in the programs and industry internships at UMaine. UMaine Engineering as mentors for four years SELF SUMMER INSTITUTE MENTORS 2014 2015 2016 2017 Anna Hayden Marley Dewey Anna Webber Meredith Allen* Katrina Lessard Jordan Manzo Maryam Kashkooli Chloe Lilly Kelsey Bolduc Lindsey Smith Meredith Allen* Kendra Fein* Alexi Deering - - - * Graduate students How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Three presentations were given at WEPAN - Women in Engineering ProActive Network two annual meetings reaching more than 200 women professionals. 2017 - WEPAN Annual Meeting, Change Leader Forum, Session WH3-T2, Oral Presentation - 'Hi5 for Change', "Sustainable Energy Leaders of the Future (SELF) for Rural Girls", June 14, 2017, Westminster, Colorado. 2017 - WEPAN Annual Meeting, Change Leader Forum, Panel Discussion - Hi-5 for Change, "UMaine SELF", June 14, 2017, Westminster, Colorado. 2015 - WEPAN Annual Meeting, Change Leader Forum, Poster Session, "Sustainable Energy Leaders of the Future (SELF)", June 9, 2015, Denver, Colorado. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?
Nothing Reported
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
The primary goal of the University of Maine's Sustainable Energy Leaders of the Future (SELF) residential summer institute program is to "engage, mentor and prepare female high school students from rural communities in cutting-edge research and educational programs at the University of Maine." The program targets approximately twelve female high school sophomores each year from Maine's predominantly rural school districts. Participants spend 3½ days on campus learning about renewable energy and forest bioproducts. Forest Bioproducts Research Institute (FBRI) has completed 4 years of the SELF program funded by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture, USDA. In the last 4 years of the SELF project a total of 51 high school girls from 25 schools have participated in the 3 and ½ days residential summer program filled with a field trip to forest and many hands on activities and group projects and presentations related to renewable energy resources. A panel discussion involving female faculty and female engineering students was very effective in raising aspirations for high school girls. Based on the multiple years data collected the SELF program demonstrated some success in recruiting girls from rural areas and increasing their self-reported interest in STEM education and careers. The students were very positive about the impact of the program on them and wanted more students to have the opportunity. The major success of the project is that some of the participants were again interested in enrolling into other STEM programs on campus like Consider Engineering and SMART (Stormwater Management Research Team) programs. Some have come to visit campus and also attended some of the engineering classes.
Publications
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2015
Citation:
Sheila Pendse, Presenter, WEPAN Annual Meeting, Change Leader Forum, Poster Session, Sustainable Energy Leaders of the Future (SELF) , June 9, 2015, Denver, Colorado.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Sheila Pendse, Speaker, WEPAN Annual Meeting, Change Leader Forum, Session WH3-T2, Oral Presentation - Hi5 for Change, Sustainable Energy Leaders of the Future (SELF) for Rural Girls , June 14, 2017, Westminster, Colorado.
- Type:
Conference Papers and Presentations
Status:
Other
Year Published:
2017
Citation:
Sheila Pendse, Panelist, WEPAN Annual Meeting, Change Leader Forum, Panel Discussion Hi-5 for Change, UMaine SELF , June 14, 2017, Westminster, Colorado.
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Progress 09/02/15 to 09/01/16
Outputs
Target Audience:High school sophomore girls from rural communiuies, parants and teachers Changes/Problems:This year (2016) we provided new activities involving 3D printing which were very popular and instructive. 2015 modifications to the forest field trip were used again in 2016 with great success. We are looking forward to doing 2017 camp with a no-cost extension of one-year. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Several hands-on activitis and field trips were used. These included: 1.Forest Field Trip 2.Biofuels - Conversion of wood into gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel 3.Make your own Aluminum-Air Battery, Slime & LEDs 4.Physics of Wood 5.New uses of 3D printing in bioengineering 6.Statistics in real time 7.Renewable energy - solar, wind, fuel cells 8.Women Engineers Panel 9.Project Presentations 10.Fun, Food, & Friendships How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Emails and Facebook private groups are used. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are requesting one-year no-cost extension to conduct one more SELF camp in 2017. We expect to have approximately $28,000 in residual funds with $21,000 available for direct costs. We can supplement these with other outreach funds to provide a very positive and productive experience for at least 10 high school girls next year.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Successful summer residentail camp was conducted in June 2016 with 13 girls from 9 home towns in attendance. Twoundergraduate and one graduate student served as camp couselors. Program Coordinator Sheila pendse was interviewed ny Maine campus in Feb. 2015 and news story publised with headline " College of Engineering & FBRI offer programs for youth girls at the University of Maine". Very positive feedback from parents was received. 1. Do you think your daughter enjoyed the Institute? What did they like the most? Yes, she did.Building the circuit board was her favorite project. She definitely enjoyed herself!She said that she liked the electrical engineering and the 3D printing the most. Yes, she definitely enjoyed it.Her favorite parts were the presentation at the planetarium, the 3D printing of the prosthetic hand and the physics classes. I think she did, I haven't had much time to talk to her.She called me last night saying she was tired and that she had a fun day in the woods. Yes, she did enjoy the institute, the counselors and she really enjoyed making the LED light. 2: Do you think your daughter learned anything during the Institute? Can you list some of them? Yes, she did.She enjoyed learning about what engineers do to improve society.She also learned about the possibilities of becoming an electrical engineer. She learned about: different types of engineering, the UMO campus, and all advancements that the engineering field has made. Yes, she learned about tree identification, how to solder and put a LED light together, the physics of trees/wood, using fuel cells as a renewable resource and how wings of airplanes are tested. I think so, but I haven't talked to her about it. Yes, she shared with us many things, however the highlights were how to identify trees, about carbon and more about renewable energy. 3: Overall, what did you think of the Institute? Comments and suggestions: It was very fun and educational. I am very happy, Meagan enjoyed herself so much.She enjoyed meeting new people, the experiments, the food, the pool... pretty much everything she experienced.She is hoping to return next summer to take part in the SELF camp again! Jenna had an amazing experience.It was fun for her to get to meet and work with other girls that have similar interests and goals.As a parent I really enjoyed the family presentation/luncheon.Thank you so much for including Jenna in this program! I think this is a great, wonderful opportunity for girls to explore their opportunities and take advantage of this to learn more about it and make a choice. We felt overall it was a great institute our only concern would be that maybe the schedule could incorporate a little more down time and give each activity a more appropriate amount of time, so as not to run over into other scheduled events.If need be, extend the camp one more day.We felt all activities were worthwhile so not wishing to cut anything out.Thank you again for providing the amazing opportunities for these girls1.
Publications
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Progress 09/02/14 to 09/01/15
Outputs
Target Audience:Recruitment: the purpose of this project is to engage, mentor and prepare female high school students from rural communities in cutting-edge Forest BioProducts (FBP) research programs at the University of Maine; Retention and recruitment: This project will connecthigh school sophomore participants in a mentorship relationship with a female undergraduates enrolled in a STEM degree program at UMaine. The sophomoresattend an intensive 3 ½ day SELF institute at UMaine in the Summer, followed by regular contactswith their undergrad mentors online. Audience: Major beneficiaries: each year 13 rural high school sophomores, and 3 undergraduates enrolled at UMaine in STEM degree programs. Changes/Problems:We did not receive applications from 4-H clubs as we had originally expected. We contacted school teachers and administrators directly. We will review our recruitment strtaegy again. We had13participanys this year compared to 10 for the last year. The growth was on target. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?We had 13 students participating the SELF Summer Institute this year, compared to 10 for the last year. All 23 have show continuing personal and professional growth. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?On the final day of the SELF Summer Institute, parents and relatives of participants and members of university communities were invited for a project presentation by the participants and an award luncheon (60 total in attendance). Local TV covered the program and interviewed the participants and the mentors. (http://www.foxbangor.com/news/local-news/10091-high-school-girls-explore-stem-careers.html) . The project information is posted on UMaine website http://umaine.edu/gem/sustainable-energy-leaders-of-the-future-self-for-high-school-students/ What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?WE adjusted our activities for the forest field trip this year to cut down walking and waiting. This seems to have improved active participation. We will keep this new format for the next year. We tried twonew activitis in Statistical Quality Control and wood composite stength this year. We will review effceiveness of both.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Based on the data collected by the independent evaluator, it appears that the SELF program demonstrated early success in meeting the program goal of recruiting girls from rural areas and increasing their self-reported interest in STEM education and careers. It appears that the SELF program somewhat increased student understanding of the elements of applied research and its relationship to solving real-world problems. It appears the SELF program demonstrated early success in increasing student understanding of the forest as a source for research and development of new products. We had an outstanding 4 female engineering faculty panel prentation/discussion that participants learned a lot about their careers and different paths. We will continue the engineering panel discussion next year too. Parants feedback has been very positive. For example, "My daughter learned a lot about engineering, career opportunities and what is out there for intelligent young ladies. She and I thought the experience was just great. She learned about many different aspects of science and engineering. It was a great opportunity and a great way for these young ladies to see what opportunities were available for them. She had a great time and I am very glad that it was an all girls camp. " Participants feedback included: "It was fun, the councilors were amazing to us. You guys taught us a lot and I hope you continue to offer this to girls in the future." "I thought that it was an amazing Institute, but it should be spread out over more days. I am glad I was able to make all the friendships I did." "I thought it was an amazing experience and I definitely recommend it. "
Publications
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Progress 09/02/13 to 09/01/14
Outputs
Target Audience: The program had a target of recruiting twelve female high school sophomores from predominantly rural schools in Maine. By the time the program began the first day of the SELF experience, ten girls attended the three-day experience, eight girls were going into their sophomore year and two were going into their junior year in high school. Two girls, who were accepted into the program, had topull out shortly before the start date and it was not possible to find alternates prior to the start of the program. Four undergraduate engineering students stayed with them in the residence hall as counselors. Changes/Problems: We did not receive applications from 4-H clubs as we expected even after the deadline for application was extended. We approached school teachers and had positive results. There were 12 participants registered but 2 participants canceled the day the program was to start. We did not have enough time to replace them. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Our undergraduate engineering sophomore students got experience in counseling, teaching, and mentoring high school girls. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? On the final day of the SELF Summer Institute, parents and relatives of participants and members of university communities were invited for a project presentation by the participants and an award luncheon (50 total in attendance). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals? We plan to change our daily activity schedule by adding more free time so our activities are not so packed up. We will also schedule specific time for working on teamproject experiments and preparation of presentations.
Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals?
Based on the data collected by the independent evaluator, it appears that the SELF program demonstrated early success in meeting the program goal of recruiting girls from rural areas and increasing their self-reported interest in STEM education and careers. It appears that the SELF program somewhat increased student understanding of the elements of applied research and its relationship to solving real-world problems. It appears the SELF program demonstrated early success in increasing student understanding of the forest as a source for research and development of new products.
Publications
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