Scientists in the region agree – SDSU and Southwestern College have good chemistry.
A $3.2 million National Science Foundation grant is funding a new program to help matriculate at least 10 SC biochemistry and chemistry majors into the SDSU program.
SC chemistry professor Dr. David Hecht said it is a formula for success.
SC students will have a newly competitive edge, said Hecht, thanks to opportunities for undergraduate research, networking opportunities, and scholarships.
Faculty members from both institutions collaborated on the grant, including SC’s Hecht, adjunct chemistry instructor Alexandra Hofler and MESA Director Dr. Mourad Mjahed.
One goal is to cultivate successful candidates for graduate school, said Hecht.
Hofler said the collaboration will help with “transfer shock,” easing transition into SDSU. Both schools will provide outreach to the American Chemical Society, trips to local biotech companies, guest speakers and networking.
Hecht said the mission of the program is to cut through barriers of race, gender and socioeconomics.
Research and literature shows that undergraduate research increases student GPA, retention and success rates, he said.
“My philosophy of teaching is really that the best way to learn science is to do science,” he said. “That’s what the grant is all about.”
Hecht said he plans to implement a new three-unit course, for the program on research techniques that will allow students to learn how to approach faculty mentors for projects, formulate hypotheses and design research. Students will gain real-world research experience studying diseases like malaria, gonorrhea, cancer and the Zika virus.
Students chosen for the program may apply for up to $10,000 a year based on financial need, said Hecht. Students will also have faculty mentors, said Hofler.
“We definitely found that the students that get mentoring, do better in their classes,” she said.
Southwestern College alumna Ruth Sosa earned her BS in chemistry from SDSU in chemistry and found a job at REVA Medical just a month after she began her search, she said. She credits her success to undergraduate research conducted at SDSU.
SC chemistry major Alexis Garcia said she plans to apply for the program and continue her education at a local university.
“I think it’s amazing,” she said. “It’s really hard, especially coming from [a] community college to catch up with the kind of rigor that happens at a four-year institution.”
Garcia said she wants to enroll in an M.D./Ph.D. program.
The program looks to train current students into graduate programs and perhaps in turn, give back to the community, training the next generation. Applications are available through SWC scholarship website starting October 1-31 under NSF S-STEM Scholarship – Mentored Pathways from Community College to Graduate School and Chemistry Careers.
