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SHAPING STEM SKILLS FROM THE STARTA team of dedicated faculty and staff members is initiating a hands-on program to motivate first-year students to pursue engineering, computer science, and technology degrees. Pictured here (from left) are: Orval Hernandez-Marcial, a civil engineering graduate student; Mark Tufenkjian, professor of civil engineering; Deborah Won, associate professor of electrical and computer engineering; Arash Jamehbozorg, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering; Frances Hidalgo, director of the ECST Student Success Center; and Mauricio Castillo, associate professor of industrial technology.Imagine having the opportunity to design, build, and test an underwater remote-operated vehicle (ROV) during your first year as a college student. Would this hands-on, immersive experience inspire you to follow through with completing a degree in engineering or technology?That is the goal of the new Introduction to Engineering and Technology lab course, available soon to freshmen. It is also the overall objective of a grant-funded program to support and motivate first-year students pursuing engineering, computer science, and technology degrees.This fall, the California State University system received a $4.6 million grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust to implement practices and programs that support first-year students who are pursuing science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) degrees. At CSU, this grant is divided among eight campuses to initiate immersive STEM programs for students before they attend college and throughout their first year.The College of Engineering, Computer Science, and Technology at California State University, Los Angeles, will apply its $375,000 portion of the grant over the next two and a half years to improve the first-year STEM experience of its students.“The program we are creating is called First-Year Experience at ECST, or FYrE@ECST,” says Deborah Won, professor of electrical and computer engineering and principal investigator for this initiative. “FYrE@ECST focuses on better preparing students in our College for success in their respective major degree programs by integrating a summer bridge program (Summer Transition to ECST Program) to teach college-level math up through Calculus I, a new introductory engineering and technology gateway course that includes a hands-on thematic project, supplementary instruction featuring peer-to-peer mentoring for calculus and physics courses, and a new comprehensive developmental advisement tool called My Golden Eagle Flight Plan.”fffff6fff