FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 22, 2011
Danielle McNamara
(510) 987-0230
Press Release
Thousands of middle and high school students around the state will test their math, science and engineering skills during hands-on competitions this April.
These Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) students were among the top-ranked from more than 20 preliminary contests to qualify for these regional MESA Days.
Through MESA Day competitions, students engage in hands-on activities that expand their understanding of math, science and engineering concepts. By offering a wide variety of competitions from web design to wind energy machines to bridge building, students explore pathways that can lead to future careers in science, engineering and other technical fields.
By holding MESA Days on college campuses students are exposed early on to college settings. 2011 Regional MESA Days will be held at the following campuses:
- North region (middle and high school) – April 30, Sonoma State
- Central region (middle and high school) – April 9, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
- LA Metro region (middle school) – April 2, CSU Los Angeles
- LA Metro region (high school) – April 9, University of Southern California
- South region (middle school) – April 2, Chapman University
- South region (high school) – April 16, San Diego State
Students competing in the wind energy challenge hope to advance to the statewide championship in May, where winners will go on to represent California in a national competition held in June.
MESA is an academic preparation program that serves 20,249 California pre-college, community college and university students who are educationally disadvantaged. Seventy percent of schools served by MESA are among the lowest-performing in the state. Almost two-thirds of MESA high school graduates go on to college as math, engineering or science majors. In 2001, 14,000 California jobs requiring science or engineering degrees went unfilled, making award-winning programs such as MESA an imperative.
For more information about MESA visit https://live-mesaucop.pantheonsite.io