2026 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Building Empowerment-Based Learning and Community-Rooted Leadership in Pre-College Engineering Education: A Narrative Case Study of Legacy in Urban STEM Pathways

Presented at Community Engagement Division (COMMENG) Technical Session 5

This narrative case study illuminates the transformative impact of African American community-rooted leadership in expanding pre-college engineering opportunities for urban youth. Centered on the life work of Kenneth Hill, engineer, educator, and founder of the Detroit Area Pre-College Engineering Program (DAPCEP) and the Chicago Pre-College Science and Engineering Program (ChiS&E), the study examines how asset-based pedagogy [1], [2], empowerment-based learning [3], [4], and community-rooted leadership [5] cultivated enduring systems of support for students who have not traditionally been represented in engineering pathways.

Using a qualitative case study methodology grounded in extensive interviews and archival analysis, this work blends scholarly analysis with narrative storytelling to examine the human, political, and pedagogical dimensions of educational transformation. Findings reveal that Hill’s leadership redefined not only what students could achieve, but what communities came to expect of themselves, generating a culture of engineering possibility that persists across decades. The study contributes a rare, voice-centered account of equity-oriented leadership in engineering education and offers an alternative model for designing sustainable, community-driven STEM ecosystems.

Authors

Dr. Araceli Martinez Ortiz http://orcid.org/0000-0002-3375-1519 The University of Texas at San Antonio [biography]

Araceli Martinez Ortiz, PhD, is the Microsoft President’s Endowed Professor of Engineering Education at the University of Texas at San Antonio, with a joint appointment in the Klesse College of Engineering and Integrated Design and the College of Education and Human Development. She is currently Professor and Director of the Engineering Education Graduate Program. She also serves as Executive Director of the Dr. Manuel P. Berriozábal Prefreshman Engineering Program (PREP), advancing STEM engagement and community-integrated research in engineering education. Her research focuses on pre-engineering pathways, skilled technical workforce development, challenge-based learning, STEM educator professional development, and the integration of artificial intelligence in engineering education. She previously served as Executive Director of the LBJ Institute for STEM Education and Research at Texas State, leading major initiatives supported by NASA and NSF. Dr. Martinez Ortiz holds degrees from the University of Michigan, Kettering University, Michigan State University, and Tufts University.

Note

The full paper will be available to logged in and registered conference attendees once the conference starts on June 21, 2026, and to all visitors after the conference ends on June 24, 2026

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For those interested in:

Advocacy and Policy
Broadening Participation in Engineering and Engineering Technology
Pre-College