DE PERE, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – St. Norbert College is looking to award nearly $1 million in grant money to 18 low-income students who are pursuing degrees in STEM fields.
Professor Anindo Choudhury tells FOX 11, the hope is to make the campus a more diverse and inclusive place.
“This particular program is geared toward students who wouldn’t have the economic opportunity to come to a college like this and be a part of the STEM workforce.”
The grant comes from the National Science Foundation.
Sami Rollins is with the federal agency and tells FOX 11 they’re promoting research and education in science.
“This is really about preparing students for the type of jobs that need workers and jobs that we see needing more workers 4 or 5 years down the road with this expertise.”
The college’s program will give two groups of nine students financial support for five years.
“If i’m not mistaken $660,000 is just for scholarships and tuition support. The rest of the money is for research and internships,” Choudhury said.
St. Norbert faculty says the program isn’t just about getting more students enrolled in college, but making sure they’re successful once they’re in class.
“A part of this support is in the form of an early arrival program. And they go through preparation for the school year and during the school year they have academic peer mentoring and pair with faculty mentors,” Choudhury said.
The long term goal is to implement more programs likes this in the future, especially ones that promote diversity and inclusivity on campus.
“It brings different perspectives and more cultural aspects and I think it just makes the place richer,” Choudhury said.
The college will begin recruiting students for this program for the 2020 school year.
