STEM and Higher Education Outreach for Latin@ and Native American Students

On Saturday, October 10th, the UCLA organization SACNAS (Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science) attended its first outreach event of the quarter. The event, STEAM Nation, brings science activities to students from Los Angeles communities. This event is hosted annually in hopes to spark interest and inform students of all ages the importance of science. The fun activities hosted by the SACNAS table at STEAM Nation keep students interested and associate science with fun. Associating science, technology, engineering, art, and math with something that causes joy, will create a positive reaction with further interactions with these topics.

There is a tremendous underrepresentation of Latin@ students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) majors and in higher education. According to MECHA of UCLA’s Educational Pipeline, out of 100 elementary latin@ students, only 8 will graduate with a BA degree, 2 of these students will earn a professional or graduate degree. As the levels of education become higher, the numbers of Latin@’s drop drastically. Outreach events and programs are the backbone of increasing diversity among the sciences.

For more information contact SACNAS at UCLA: http://www.sacnasatucla.com/contact-us.html

You can also visit: http://mechadeucla.weebly.com/