Advice from our graduating STEM students

Here are a few WORDS OF WISDOM from the graduating STEM students:

·        Good luck

Self-management skills:
·        Do your best and forget the rest
·        Don’t get too overwhelmed, it’ll work out
·        Find a balance between life, friends, heath, relationships, and school
·        Time management and stress relief practices
·        Study, Study, Study!
·        Don’t wait until the last minute
·       Be persistent, organized and above all, communicate efficiently and completely

Self-efficacy:
·        Always get involved in campus events!
·        Remember you are here to develop a skill-set, not to hunt grades
·        Senior year has been the hardest year, but I have learned that all the stress and all-nighters were worth it. Believe in yourself and work hard for what you really want
·        4 red bulls @ 4 am the night before finals…totally worth it!
·        Get involved on campus, join clubs/activities
·        Go on vacation

Navigating the University and your major:

·        Get to know your professors

·        Get to know your classmates

·        Make lots of study groups

·        Don’t take O. Chem online

·        Take Biology classes with Scott Collins

·        Go to office hours

·        Take PE classes
·        Get supporting math/science done early, don’t wait to do Calc, Chem, and Physics. Get done early so you can focus on your core classes and not stress senior year

·        Get your pre-recs done early so you have time to get into departmental honors

·        Take some fun classes to balance your schedule, it’s OK to relax!

·        Don’t give it up if you fail calc

STEM Gateway celebrations National Student Employment Week

STEM Gateway staff surprised the hard working S-cubed and Peer-Learning Facilitators with a small celebration and token of appreciation on April 17th during their weekly professional development training.

We could not be happier with our students hard work and dedication. THANK YOU STEM Gateway facilitators!!

Mock Finals!

Join us for the Spring 2015 Mock Finals event!

Pre-registration (HERE) is highly encouraged.

Discover STEM!

Join us for Discover STEM at this years 2015 Shared Knowledge Conference, hosted by the UNM STEM Collaborative. 
‪#‎UNMSKC2015‬

PLF Spotlight: Marshall Brandenburg

STEM Gateway is so proud of the Peer Learning Facilitator program but it would be nothing without our awesome PLFs. These student employees are some of the most passionate, hard working, and skilled on campus. We are so excited to brag about them every month in our newly created PLF Spotlight. April’s segment is devoted to the brilliant Marshall Brandenburg!

 

Marshall has been with the PLF program since 2013 and has served in Math 116 Topics in Pre-Calculus, Math 121 College Algebra, Math 162 Calculus I, and Math 180 Elements of Calculus courses. Needless to say, Marshall is obviously a math gateway course wiz! (Check out the PLF office hours sheet on our blog for Marshall’s office hours schedule - hint, hint!!)

 

PLFs support student learning in their assigned STEM courses, which typically include helping with in-class work, grading low-stakes assignments, proctoring exams, and holding office hours. As evidenced in classroom observations, Marshall’s strengths as a PLF include patience, professionalism, and compassion. It is clear to anyone who watches Marshall work with students that he truly cares and makes their success a priority. However, Marshall’s self-proclaimed greatest memory on the job comes from his work in office hours. He tutored a struggling student who ultimately received a 100% on a calculus test. This is no easy feat for a student, and Marshall considers this to be a significant accomplishment for both the student and in his position as a PLF.

 

Although Marshall personally contributes a great deal to the PLF program, it has developed through the interactions with professional role models he has met through STEM Gateway. UNM Mathematics faculty member, Derek Martinez, inspires him with his noticeable passion for the subject mater. Marshall similarly admires former PLF Program Specialist, Mary Cianflone, for her devotion to the success of students in STEM fields and compassion as a leader.

 

Aside from being an awesome student employee, Marshall is also a STEM student himself. Majoring in Applied Mathematics, he hopes to go on to graduate school in the field and one day accomplish his personal goals of being published and working at one of New Mexico’s National Labs. He is well on his way to accomplishing great things. Marshall has already toured and watched a presentation from the Center for Non-Linear Studies at Los Alamos National Labs. He was also accepted to the Mentoring through Critical Transition Points (MCTP) Mathematics Summer Camp 2015 at UNM.