Gerald Sastra/The Cougar
For prospective students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in the departments of Earth and atmospheric sciences, mathematics or physics, there is a new STEM scholarship to be won.
The Science and Math Mentoring Scholarship Program (SaMMS) received funding of $1.5 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) for 24 incoming UH freshmen who are interested in receiving mentorship from esteemed faculty such as Dr. Daniel Hauptvogel, Dr. Donna Stokes and Dr. Donna Pattinson.
Applications will open on Nov. 21 and applicants must qualify for a Federal Pell Grant to be considered. These are the only requirements as of now.
Hauptvogel, program head for the SaMMS scholarship, shared that while there have been previous NSF S-STEM awards, his grant writing alongside both Dr. Stokes and Dr. Pattinson centered around the ideas of “educational research and student success,” two things he is invested in.
“Research has shown that when students have a good relationship with a faculty mentor, they tend to be more successful, both academically and then later on when they go to either graduate school or move out into industry or getting a job,” Hauptvogel said.
The grant has been in the making for two years now, just securing its funding this year. Selection for incoming freshmen will begin in Fall 2023 and recipients will receive up to $10,000 per year for four years.
The goal of having these “cohorts” throughout the student’s entire undergraduate journey is to help in their transition process to UH.
There will also be active partnerships with different offices at UH to assist students in professional development aspects such as resume writing, interview practice and dealing with testing anxiety or study habits.
“It doesn’t matter if the student is interested in going to graduate school or is interested in just going out and getting some kind of job afterwards,” Hauptvogel said. “But I think motivation, hard-working (students), is what we’re really interested in.”
