MESA Named National STEM Champion Awardee

MESA’s legacy of propelling Hispanic student achievement in STEM will be recognized with a national accolade for leadership in that space.

 The Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers has named MESA the 2024 Rubén Hinojosa STEM Champion Award winner.

The award honors “community and philanthropic leaders with a proven legacy of passionately supporting Hispanics in STEM”. Named after retired Congressman Rubén Hinojosa, a longtime advocate for Hispanics in STEM through his work on education equity and funding bills. MESA’s appointment is the first time the award has been given to an organization rather than an individual.

Currently, about 55 percent of MESA’s more than 23,000 students are Hispanic/Latino. By providing exposure to STEM curriculum and professions, industry involvement, and a safe, supportive learning community, MESA guides middle school, high school, community college and university students to STEM degrees and careers.

MESA not only impacts students along their academic paths, but entire communities by training teachers on leading STEM curriculum, inspiring entire families to strive for educational success and helping industry diversify its workforce with strong talent.

MESA’s impact in California spans all segments and institutional branches of education.

Specifically, MESA serves students through programs centers located at:

• California Community Colleges campuses, 91
• California State University campuses,  10
• University of California campuses, 7
• Independent California university campuses, 2

What began as a single classroom in an Oakland high school in 1970, has grown over the last nearly 55 years to reach up and down California, across the US and beyond. MESA proudly touts astronauts, legislators and other amazing leaders as its alumni.

MESA will be celebrated during a ceremony at the SHPE National Convention in Anaheim in October. Awardees are selected by a special leadership committee and not open to direct nominations.

Celebrating its 50th year, the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers, was founded to foster Hispanic leadership in STEM fields.

Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) has a -year history of changing the face of science, technology and engineering by developing a new generation of STEM leaders.

MESA bridges classroom learning with real-world applications, and employ rigorous academics, leadership preparation, a peer community and collaborative problem-solving training to produce highly skilled college graduates who meet 21st century STEM workforce needs.

The White House, the Ford Foundation, and the Silicon Valley Education Foundation have all recognized MESA for its innovative and effective academic development model.

 For more information about MESA or follow us @MESASTEM.