2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

The New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology (NMT) partnered with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to provide a STEM experience for late-year high school students. This paper will evaluate the program in terms of implementation, results of apprentice growth, and lessons learned. The AFRL NM Career STREAM program aims to provide an industrial environment on a college campus, demonstrating what a career would be like, to apprentices coming from rural New Mexico and other underserved groups. The paid apprenticeship allows students to conduct research in various STEM related topics on a college campus under the mentorship of college students. The program is geared towards underserved and underrepresented groups that may have fewer science and engineering opportunities in their area. Every college campus has mentors that oversee the apprentices’ day to day progress on a STEM related research project developed by the mentors. The program sought to train the mentors to run a research project by identifying a topic, setting the parameters, and managing the project. The NMT campus mentors focused on a research topic related to robotics. These mentors had four weeks before the apprentices came onto the campus to plan how to assist the apprentices in finishing a college level project. Apprentices were challenged to work in two teams of six to seven to design and code an autonomous robot that mapped a given area (Team 1) and retrieve a payload in said area (Team 2). The program lasted a total of six weeks where the teams learned and implemented skills needed to complete the above challenges. Within each week, a pathways mentor would coordinate a presentation on how to manage in a professional environment. The pathways mentor also organized guest speakers to present on topics related to their field. The apprentices filled out pre and post surveys for AFRL to keep track of the performance of the program. Apprentices showed growth in skill, self efficacy, and a sense of belonging in STEM.