At UTA, Hispanic high school STEM students gain skills

The letters S, T, E and M spell success for many high school students seeking promising careers in the science, technology, engineering and math disciplines. To add leadership skills to the mix, the Army and the Hispanic Heritage Foundation teamed this week for two Latinos on Fast Track symposiums at the University of Texas at Arlington.

The first day Tuesday drew 131 students from Arlington, Eastern Hills, Trimble Tech, Castleberry, Haltom and Diamond Hill-Jarvis high schools. The second day Wednesday involved students from Mansfield Timberview, Skyline, North Side, R.L. Paschal and Science/Engineering Magnet high schools.

The partnership promotes education, leadership and career opportunities in STEM-related fields through similar sessions nationwide. With the Army’s involvement, students also learn how to pay for their education with military scholarships and G.I. Bill programs.

Nearly 3 million jobs will open up in STEM fields in the next five years, organizers said, and today’s students can claim those positions.

“We’re here to inspire them,” said Army Reserve Maj. Miguel A. Juarez, assistant professor of military science at UTA, who facilitated Tuesday morning’s leadership activities. “Even if they’re not planning to be in the military, they will be education, corporate and even religious leaders.”

Said Yanez, 17, a senior at Trimble Tech in Fort Worth, plans to use STEM skills to create original tech-based church music as he earns a ministerial degree at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Improved leadership skills, he said, are “very needed in the ministry.”

Kevin R. Smith, recruiting and enrollments adviser at UTA, said students should realize that there is a misconception that ROTC membership in high school and early college involves military commitment.

“During the freshman and sophomore years, students can acquire a lot of decision-making and problem-solving skills in ROTC, as well as being eligible to earn scholarships without committing to military service,” Smith said.

If a student with strong STEM skills enters the military, he or she will train in a career field that has little to do with combat.

“If you can think of a career field in the civilian world,” he said, “there’s one just like it in the military.”

During the morning session, students were grouped and given two school scenarios that involved selecting a leader for a project and resolving issues among themselves. The groups detailed their steps toward reaching a consensus and what their leader did to facilitate the solution.

The afternoon session included a panel of leaders in STEM occupations who answered questions from the crowd. Topics included what are the highest-demand STEM degrees and what are helpful postgraduate degrees for the field. The students also asked more personal questions, such what were some of the panelists’ obstacles and how did they overcome them.

According to the Hispanic Heritage Foundation, about 1 in 4 U.S. students is Hispanic and Hispanics make up about 15 percent of the U.S. population. But in 2012 only 8 percent of STEM-related college graduates were Hispanic.

“We’ve got to bring these disparate upbringings together to solve problems,” Juarez said after the sessions. “In the Army, we always hope to help young people develop the discipline and commitment to succeed at higher education.”

Armando Diaz, 18, a senior at Diamond Hill-Jarvis in Fort Worth, already has STEM-based career plans.

Diaz, a JROTC cadet lieutenant colonel, said he plans to enlist in the Army Reserve and get a degree in biology from UTA.

He wants to be a science teacher, like those at his high school who inspired him “and really cared about my education.”

“My takeaway from today is that, with STEM, you not only need an education, but you need to learn teamwork and leadership to achieve your goals,” he said.

Juarez sees a lot of promise among the STEM students and believes the leadership program can awaken remarkable talent.

“Who knows,” he said. “We may be inspiring the next Isaac Newton or the next Albert Einstein.”

The final day of the symposium will be repeated on Wednesday, when more than 100 students are expected from Timberview, Skyline, Northside, R.L. Paschal and Science/Engineering Magnet high schools.

This story was originally published February 24, 2016 at 2:33 PM with the headline "At UTA, Hispanic high school STEM students gain skills."