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"I sincerely appreciate the generosity of the STEM Advantage program. Not only do you provide us with scholarships, internships, and mentors, but you also spend your precious time doing everything you can to see us succeed. STEM Advantage gives people like me hope and the encouragement needed to face the challenges of pursuing a career in a field that is tremendously skewed."
- Gabriel, STEM Advantage Scholar, Computer Technology/Homeland Security, CSU Dominguez Hills
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Board members Ron Guerrier and Marlo Donate from Toyota Financial Services with colleagues
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2nd Annual STEM Advantage
Fundraiser- A Big Success!
Thank you to our sponsors, guests and STEM Advantage
Scholars for making our 2nd Annual Fundraiser a
resounding success! Thanks to you, we netted over
$60,000 to fund STEM Advantage scholarships.
Special thanks to Frank Mottek of KNX for being our emcee. Hearing STEM Advantage Scholars Alena and David share their stories on what our 360 degree program has meant to them was heartwarming and made everyone realize what a difference we are making. Hearing sponsors, internship providers and mentors from Toyota, Farmers Insurance, Sony Pictures Entertainment and NBCUniversal tell us why they support STEM Advantage was inspiring. Some photos... Guest speaker Shohreh Abedi, CIO,Farmers Insurance, with Scholars Reymarie and Rosalie; committee members Ann Marie Griffith and Michelle Rudo with Destiny Hicks and Simin Haik; STEM Advantage Scholar Alena; guest speaker David Buckholtz (Vice President, Corporate Information Technology, Sony Pictures Entertainment) |
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STEM Advantage Scholars
We currently serve over 300 students and to date have selected 18 STEM Advantage Scholars. Each Scholar receives a paid internship, mentor and $5000 scholarship.
Scholars are junior- and senior-level undergraduates earning a bachelor's degree in Computer Science or Computer Technology, many with a focus on Homeland Security, at California State University Dominguez Hills, a highly diverse, urban university that serves the Los Angeles metropolitan area.
Toyota, DIRECTV, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Hispanic Scholarship Fund, Farmers Insurance and CCH-Wolters Kluwer are providing paid internships that give students real-world experience. We are very proud that several students have graduated and received full-time offers from the company where they interned. As our 360 degree approach is designed to provide businesses a pipeline for diverse STEM talent, that's a great testament that the program is working.
We are finalizing details to add a second California State University campus/partner in Fall 2014 to double the number of students served.
If you are interested in providing a paid internship to a STEM Advantage Scholar in Summer 2015, please contact cindy@stemadvantage.org or leeann@stemadvantage.org. Typical roles include security analyst, business analyst, digital services, project manager, help desk and data analyst.
To help fund scholarships or be a mentor, please contact leeann@stemadvantage.org
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IT Career Panel  In April, STEM Advantage held an IT Career Panel at Cal State Dominguez Hills. Thank you to a stellar panel of IT executives, including Carole Schlocker (moderator), Judy Hwang (Toyota), Rashmi Kumar (McKesson), Sandra Langhammer (Tribune Company), Cindy McKenzie (PwC), Sylvia Tejero-Suarez (CCH Wolters-Kluwer), plus STEM Advantage Scholar David Odierno, who is now working for Toyota as a Security Analyst. A standing room only crowd learned about exciting IT careers in cyber security, software development, big data, project management, business analysis, quality assurance and more. Cindy then took to the blackboard and diagrammed (a big hit!) where various roles fit in an organization and some typical career paths. As many students are homeland security majors, there were many questions related to security-related careers. Also, the panelists delivered practical advice, including how to prepare for a behavioral interview, set up a LinkedIn profile, "network", stay relevant, make your manager look good, and much more. Based on phenomenal student feedback, we are planning another Career Panel in the Fall. |
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About STEM Advantage
STEM Advantage was created in September 2012, to mentor, prepare and inspire young women and underserved communities to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) through paid internships, mentorships and scholarships. Plus we deliver career and personal development workshops.
STEM Advantage is a 501(c)(3) public charity.
To learn more, please visit our website.
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