Hofstra’s iAM program will be partnering with Nassau Community College to offer more opportunities to STEM students. // Photo courtesy of Desolora-Lanre Ologun.
Since 2018, Hofstra has been offering a mentoring and scholarship program for STEM students who may be struggling academically or financially. The Integrated Achievement and Mentoring Program (iAM) is funded by the National Science Foundation and is run by a group of Hofstra professors. This year, the iAM program will be collaborating with Nassau Community College.
“[This is] for Pell-eligible students who have been accepted into one of five STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) AS degrees at Nassau Community College and plan to transfer to one of 25 STEM majors at Hofstra University,” said Jaqueline Lee, a biology professor at Nassau Community College and co-principal investigator of the program. “The program provides scholarship support, participation in a summer undergraduate research project, support to accelerate math placement [and] membership in the iAM NCC-HU student club, as well as individualized course and program advisement, career and transfer mentoring and student support services.”
This process will begin with recruitment from local high schools to target high-achieving students from low-income communities.
“Students will be closely mentored, participate in a summer undergraduate research project, have access to an online tutoring and assessment program in mathematics, attend academic and career workshops and, if financially eligible, receive NSF-funded scholarships,” Lee said.
Nassau Community College will welcome its first cohort of 12 students in summer 2023 and will continue accepting 12 additional students each year for five years.
The other co-principal investigator, Jessica Santangelo, a biology professor at Hofstra University, founded the original program that, up until now, focused solely on current Hofstra students. According to Santangelo, the program has been very successful, with an 83% 4-year graduation rate.
“I am passionate about supporting students who want STEM careers,” Santangelo said. “This is an excellent opportunity to do that.”
Rachel Lande, a sophomore political science major with a minor in chemistry, attributes much of her success in college thus far to Santangelo and the iAM program.
“I was blessed enough to have Dr. S. as my biology professor,” Lande said, “and she was one of the few professors who gave me hope for a better future with more opportunities than biology [or the] medical field.”
The Hofstra iAM program offers mentoring and scholarships for STEM students. // Photo courtesy of Jeswin Thomas.
Lande’s perseverance and dedication caught the eye of Santangelo, and she was given the opportunity to apply for the iAM program. Lande has been a part of the program for nine months now and hopes to attend law school and eventually open her own practice.
“I genuinely hope more kids who were in the same predicament as me, lost as a freshman and even going through self-hatred for not [living] up to their expectations find a program like iAM mentoring and make it their obligation to keep fighting for themselves,” Lande said.
Nidia Mendoza, a senior biology major, came across the iAM program her freshman year after taking a semester off.
“This program basically pulled me back into school [when] I didn’t think I would be able to come back to school,” Mendoza said. “If this program had not been here, I definitely would not be at Hofstra.”
Mendoza said that through the iAM program, she has been able to improve her note-taking and studying skills as well as learn about different career paths within her chosen field – Mendoza wants to become an OB-GYN surgeon. According to Mendoza, the program provides a great deal of help to students who were high achieving in high school but are now struggling academically, financially or personally in college.
“There’s always somebody there to help you,” Mendoza said. “It’s my lifesaver.”
Daniel DeButts, a junior biology major, struggled academically before being accepted into the iAM program. When he entered the program, he had a 2.5 GPA and had failed exams. The following semester, with the program’s help, he was able to raise his GPA to 3.75.
“It allowed kids who were losing scholarships … who were showing a drop in grades suddenly, to give them an opportunity to get back on track,” DeButts said.
Now, DeButts is a mentor in the program, guiding new students who enter the iAM program.
“I help guide people who are new or confused or are not sure if they want to be in the program,” DeButts said. “I’ve had a couple of kids come to me just desperately confused and kind of out of their mind like I was.”
Some students who have been through the program say that it would be valuable if this program was replicated for students in other majors.
“If we had more opportunities for different majors, that would be super helpful,” Mendoza said. “Everybody has some type of difficulty where they need that helping hand.”
Santangelo said that what she finds most inspiring is the perseverance students have and the way they flourish in their individual STEM careers.
“Students will be the primary beneficiaries of the deep involvement of both NCC and Hofstra faculty,” Lee said. “Together, both institutions will realize a new level of commitment in promoting STEM curriculum that will produce future leaders in these fields as part of the joint grant mission.”
