Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Jan. 13, 1988)
Page 14, Portland Observer, January 13, 1988, Section II living tfie p MESA, now in its third year, l o lortlond rtlc is a program sponsored by Portland Public Scnools and the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Portland State University. Project Coordinator is Renee Wilkerson- Anderson. The program is open to all students at participating scnools but its mission is to encourage minority students to enter careers in math, science, and engineering. The 1987-88 MESA program has 410 students, two-thirds of which are minority. Participating middle schools are Beaumont, Fernwood, Whitaker, Tubman, Ockley Green, Binnsmead ML Tabor, Kellogg, and Portsmouth; high schools are Jefferson, Grant and Benson. Ken Krause. Tubman MESA Advisor, works with Emiro Gonzales and Eddie Broeth on the terminal. MESA students participate in a rich variety of activities including: study groups, science labs, technical site visits with hands-on activities, speakers, design contests, math and science competitions, college visitations, college preparatory activities— such as SAT study groups, and mentorship and internship opportunities. "MESA activities are done on the students own time," noted Wilkerson- Anderson, "after school and on weekends." EMPLOYER CONTRIBUTIONS "We have received significant contributions from both the private and public sector," states Penny Fukui, Career Coordinator. During the summer of 1987, Tektronix employed six MESA interns. Minimum wage was $4.95 per hour. Tektronix will increase the number of interns from six to twelve this year. In addition, the Tektronix Foundation has initiated a college scholarship fund of $25,000 for MESA students. NATIONAL AND LOCAL NEED "There is a urgent need for MESA type programs, stated Gory Potter, Assistant Director for the Oregon Department of Transportation, referring to Bureau of Labor statistics showing that nationally Blacks comprise only 3.7% of all engineers, 3.2% of architects. 2.5% of natural scientists, 3.3% of physicians and dentists, and 3.0% of lawyers and judges. PO R TLAN D Camille Greenidge Stephanie Bell Potter continued, "As a major employer of civil engineers in the state it’s part of our responsibility to take leadership in developing Oregon's minority youth." Three of last year’s Tek interns are now freshman engineering students; Stephanie Bell at the University of Washington, Heidi Durrow Stanford, and Camille Greenidge, Portland State. Pamela Clegg, Leila Aziz, and Byron O’Brien, the remaining interns, are 10th, 11th, and 12th graders respectively, at Jefferson High. "Mentorship and internship opportunities for students from programs like MESA will be an integral part of our affirmative action effort," said Potter, "they can be a bridge into our Engineer Trainee program." The Army Corps of Engineers initiated a "loaned professional program with MESA. Russell Smith, a mechanical engineer with the Corps, has functioned as a technical advisor and MESA/Industry) liaison for the program. The Engineer Trainee program provides summer employment for students enrolled in a college civil engineering program, and pays from $1194 to $1313 per month. In a given year, 10 to 20 Trainee positions are available. PARENT SUPPORT GROUP Mathematics. Engineering. Science Achievement Jon Ibanez, a student at ML Tabor, wrote of his mentorship with Larry Olson and Lamj Christianson of the State Highway Division-. Another accomplishment that has pleased the MESA staff is the development of the Portland MESA Parent Support Group. Approximately 50 parents belong to the volunteer group. „Before they extend or build 9 road, they need to measure everything and list what’s around the area. They need to know how many trees, light poles, telephone poles, etc are in the area. But before they can do anything about the roads there has to be an idea of what needs to be done. QJhat design will the road look like? How much will the project cost? Then there is contract plans and bid letting, low bid will be the one to build the road. Emphasis is on sharing information among parents— "what seems to work and what doesn’t, as we attempt to raise our kids," stated Don Warfield, one of the group leaders. Panel discussions at the last meeting included effective communications with your school and student opportunities in MESA, coping with parental anxieties, developing good study habits, and productive communication about grades. Then construction starts. The last step is final acceptance. Mr. Christianson showed us a computer used to design roads or bridges. Ben and I played around with this computer and put trees between the freeways. That was fun. After our visit Larry gave Ben and me M&M’s for a small snack. I hope to do the trip again. This position of engineer will only fit men and women wno are patient and like to work with many details. They also have to know math because if there’s a wrong , measurement, the whole project will be a disaster. r The Oregon Department of Transportation CIVIL RIGHTS SECTION 4 1 2 Transportation Building Salem, Oregon 9 7 3 1 0 3 7 8 -8 0 7 / Beaumont students present trophies they competition to Principal Thomas Marmeau. MESA Advisor, Sterling Eltagonde is at back , AWARD WINNERS 1986-87 MESA AWARD WINNERS Sixty-eight students received incentive awards last year. To receive an incentive award a student must receive A’s and B’s in their math and science classes and participate in a minimum number of MESA activities. Award winners were: BEAUMONT BENSON FERNWOOD GRANT Christine Allen Aaron Ashford Robert Ingram Britt Jura James McKenzie Nicol Olds Meredith Rainey Jonathan Stokes Heidi Whitcomb Alisa Benjamin Volanda Blume Burnadetta Mallisham Sheila Randall Julia Alexander Lyla Bradley Duane Burton Bill Campbell Chirstopner Dawson Elizabeth Laws Adrienne Livingston Alex Montgomery Stacey Pernell Todd West Stephanie Bell Ester Colbert Mary Client Colbert Traci Fantz Sharon Kenney BINNSMEAD Anthony Fischer Tony Fung Dwayne Lewis Stanley Mar Joshua McCleary Hendrik Somodi Min Sung JEFFERSON Leila Aziz Pamela Clegg Nilesh Dayal Linh Hong Sonia Huit Jodi Lewison Michelle Robertson Trisa Watson KELLOGG Tina Dunn Deanna Gillespie MT. TABOR Melyssa Ching Jonathan Ibanez Dang Tran Peter Vue OCKLEY GREEN Rochelle Watson TUBMAN Edward Broeth Marilyn Ceaser Sandra Ceaser Emiro Gonzales Stephanie Jenkins Nicole McCray Heather O'Brien Tanya Shiffer Bun Tan Kwame Warfield Shannon Wilson Sarah Wood WHITAKER LuJuane Brown James Fenceroy Malaina Guzman Dominic Hall