2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Weekly Professional Development Lunches to Build Community Among an S-STEM Cohort

Presented at Student Division Technical Session 7: Teaching and Learning Practices

This student-led research will assess a weekly lunch that eight faculty mentors implemented to promote student retention for an S-STEM scholarship cohort of approximately twenty engineering students. The faculty mentors hosted the students by providing simple home-cooked meals, which helped reduce food insecurity among the cohort while providing a venue for professional development. These lunches also provided an informal way for the faculty to connect with the students while fostering peer-to-peer relationships. The weekly lunch was initiated in the winter quarter of the first year of study for the participating students. As students moved into their sophomore year and began to enroll in separate, major-specific courses, the lunches helped to preserve previously formed relationships and group identity.

While the weekly lunches focused on social interaction and provided a relaxed environment for catching up, each lunch included professional development “nuggets” strategically timed to increase impact. Example activities included the initial introduction of faculty mentors, talks from Ph.D. students, ambassadors from student organizations, discussions about academic success, interview skills in preparation for upcoming university career fairs, and research opportunities for undergraduates.

This paper quantifies the impact of the lunches on professional development, group identity and belonging, connections with faculty mentors, and academic success using a 25-question survey. The survey includes Likert scale questions, yes/no/unsure questions, and open-ended discussion questions. While survey results show that students enjoy the lunches and believe the social and professional support activities are beneficial, the results are mixed on whether or not the lunches play a role in their decision to remain in an engineering major.

Authors

Caroline Cresap http://orcid.org/0009-0001-8136-0280 Louisiana Tech University [biography]

Caroline Cresap is a second-year chemical engineering major from Zachary, Louisiana. She is a Louisiana Tech University College of Engineering and Science S-STEM SUCCESS Scholar with Ashtyne Monceaux. Along with her ASEE research, she is also an undergraduate researcher in Dr. Yang Xiao's Reaction Engineering and Catalysis Science Laboratory. Caroline enjoys staying involved in her university and is a member of the American Institute of Chemical Engineers (AIChE), the Honors Student Advisory Board (HSAB), the Society of Women Engineers (SWE), and the Lambda Sigma Honor Society.
Ashtyne Klair Monceaux Louisiana Tech University [biography]

Ashtyne Monceaux, from Crowley, Louisiana, is a second-year undergraduate student at Louisiana Tech University, currently pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Civil Engineering. Her passion lies in sustainable construction and water resource development. Ashtyne's involvement with her university's own NSF S-STEM Success Scholars Program lead to her research in engineering education. Ashtyne is a member of Louisiana Tech's Honors College, an ambassador for the College of Engineering and Science, a student member of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the newly elected president of the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE).
Dr. David Hall Louisiana Tech University [biography]

David Hall develops and promotes project-based engineering courses. He believes that projects build intuition and confidence which are important for the effective application of engineering fundamentals and for the development of robust technology solutions.
Dr. Krystal Corbett Cruse Louisiana Tech University [biography]

Dr. Krystal Corbett is the First-Year Engineering Programs Coordinator and Assistant Professor in the Mechanical Engineering Department at Louisiana Tech University. She is also the Co-Director of the Office for Women in Science and Engineering at Louisiana Tech.

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