2023 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Engagement in Practice: Lessons Learned in Finding Synergy between Student Organizations and the Recruitment of Underserved Populations

Presented at Community Engagement Division 2 - Engagement in Practice Lightning Round: Equitable Engagement and Transformative Education

In Engineering, the positive relationship of community engagement with college student persistence is known. In this case study, we reinforce this finding and present a strategy that utilizes a strong network of Professional Student Organizations (e.g., the American Society of Civil Engineers, National Society of Black Engineers, Society of Women Engineers, Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, etc.) to facilitate enrichment activities with K-12 students. Not only did these activities promote student success, but there were also signs that this work could attempt to repair the leaky pipeline of diverse talent. An unexpected apprehension to outreach by students prompted the research team to acquire hands-on models the Professional Student Organizations could use as a tool to increase engagement. This factor was also studied to ascertain any insights into how the models enhanced the experiences of the event. College students wrote reflections after their interactions. This paper shares how community-engaged activities not only change attitudes and outreach self-efficacy in all students but also might be critical in self-efficacy and motivation for minority female engineering students.

Authors

Dr. Roneisha Wynette Worthy http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8093-8570 Kennesaw State University [biography]

Roneisha W. Worthy, PhD, is an assistant professor in civil engineering at Southern Polytechnic State University. Prior to joining the faculty of Southern Polytechnic State University, she was a research assistant at Vanderbilt University in the Vanderbilt Center for Environmental Management Studies. Dr. Worthy conducted near surface disposal facility research for the Department of Energy's Legacy Management Division under the Consortium for Risk Evaluation and Stakeholder Participation. She has worked as an environmental engineer/planner at Gresham,Smith and Partners in addition to General Motors Corporation's Worldwide Facilities Group. Her research interests include increasing the participation of minorities, women and other underrepresented groups in engineering.
Dr. Amy Borello Gruss Kennesaw State University [biography]

Amy Borello Gruss is an Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering at Kennesaw State University. Dr. Gruss graduated with her PhD in environmental engineering from the University of Florida studying aqueous mercury removal from industrial wastewaters using photochemical processes on an NSF Graduate Research Fellowship Program grant. Dr. Gruss gained experience in the consulting field working on water projects such as novel disinfection processes within water resource recovery facilities and alternative disposal of treated biosolids in land applications. Currently, Dr. Gruss investigates analysis and removal mechanisms of microplastics at water treatment facilities and fate and the transport of microplastic concentrations in treated sludge. She also published multiple journal articles on sustainability and the science of teaching and learning in higher education.

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