Spring Break
Texas high school students to tour A&M engineering, physics school
By: Francesca Marquez
Issue date: 4/10/07 Section: News
On Saturday, sophomores and juniors from high schools in Houston, Austin and San Antonio will be in the Zachry Engineering Center learning about engineering, physics and the admissions process for Texas A&M. These students will be participating in Science Extravaganza (SE), an event hosted by The Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists (MAES), an on-campus engineering organization.
MAES is a national organization with several chapters throughout Texas. Each chapter is responsible for organizing Science Extravaganza in its area. After several years of being absent from A&M, it has finally returned under the coordination of Catalina Suarez, the vice president of outreach.
"I feel extremely proud of our chapter for taking initiative as a whole and getting this done," Suarez said. "Next year's officers will have this year's SE as a foundation for a program that will grow to what it used to be."
According to the MAES national website, the mission of Science Extravaganza is to give professionals and University students an opportunity to get junior high and high school students interested in engineering and science, and to reinforce the benefits of higher education.
Rodolfo DeLeon, this year's president of MAES, said he intends to do just that.
"With Science Extravaganza, my main focus was to reach high school students that may have a negative view toward college or think that they do not have a chance in being admitted," DeLeon said.
DeLeon also said he wanted SE to help enlarge the diversity factor in the technical fields for the future.
"With statistics currently being the way they are for Hispanics and other races, the outlook is not as great as it is in foreign countries," he said. "With SE, we are given the opportunity to help increase those statistics in the United States, even if it is only with a small amount of students."
Suarez said that because the event will coincide with Parent's Weekend, it will allow the high school students to experience the traditions of A&M. She said that with all the activities taking place in College Station, students will believe that the town is a fun place to be.
MAES is a national organization with several chapters throughout Texas. Each chapter is responsible for organizing Science Extravaganza in its area. After several years of being absent from A&M, it has finally returned under the coordination of Catalina Suarez, the vice president of outreach.
"I feel extremely proud of our chapter for taking initiative as a whole and getting this done," Suarez said. "Next year's officers will have this year's SE as a foundation for a program that will grow to what it used to be."
According to the MAES national website, the mission of Science Extravaganza is to give professionals and University students an opportunity to get junior high and high school students interested in engineering and science, and to reinforce the benefits of higher education.
Rodolfo DeLeon, this year's president of MAES, said he intends to do just that.
"With Science Extravaganza, my main focus was to reach high school students that may have a negative view toward college or think that they do not have a chance in being admitted," DeLeon said.
DeLeon also said he wanted SE to help enlarge the diversity factor in the technical fields for the future.
"With statistics currently being the way they are for Hispanics and other races, the outlook is not as great as it is in foreign countries," he said. "With SE, we are given the opportunity to help increase those statistics in the United States, even if it is only with a small amount of students."
Suarez said that because the event will coincide with Parent's Weekend, it will allow the high school students to experience the traditions of A&M. She said that with all the activities taking place in College Station, students will believe that the town is a fun place to be.
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