08.09.2024
From Katharine Webster
Prospective mechanical engineering student Sneyker Medrano has already taken two free courses at UMass Lowell: one in the summer of 2023 when he was a pre-engineering student at Greater Lowell Technical High School, and one this summer for prospective first-year engineering students and high school students.
Both Understanding Power, Resisting Injustice, Summer Experience (UPRISE), in which students from partner high schools live on campus for two weeks and take the sociology course “Social Problems,” and Research Academics & Mentoring Pathways (RAMP), a six-week residential engineering program that includes a free math course, have better prepared him for full-time study this fall, Medrano says.
“What I liked about UPRISE was that it was the first time I was able to work on a (social justice) project in such a professional way,” says Medrano, a Lowell resident whose family immigrated from the Dominican Republic when he was 7 and who wrote his senior thesis on the difficulties immigrants face in trying to transfer their professional skills to the United States.
Image by K. Webster
First to Launch students line up on the South Campus lawn before participating in an exercise on privilege and identity.
Medrano applied to UMass Lowell and was accepted. At Welcome Day, he learned about RAMP and decided to enroll.
“I’ve been able to prepare for next year and I think it was a great decision,” he says. “I’ve met students who are in my first year, some of the faculty and people from industry – and it seems like they (the people from industry) are interested in us even before we start college.”
A number of UML summer programs offer freshmen, transfer students and high school students a head start on college and a chance to make friends, says Justin Gerstenfield, director of operations, technology and events consulting.
And many of them are free, including First to Launch for freshmen, RAMP, and two other programs designed to bring more diversity to STEM fields.
All programs provide a personalized experience and training in skills and resources that prepare students for success in college, Gerstenfield says.
“Our faculty and staff create truly customized experiences for these students. They help them understand that they’re in the right program at the right school and help them make those connections with the faculty,” he says.
Here’s a look at some of them.
First to start!
First to Launch is a six-week summer program for new first-year UML students who have joined the River Hawk Scholars Academy (RHSA), the university’s nationally recognized scholarship program for first-generation college students.
Students can take a summer class on campus for free or receive a $350 credit toward their fall tuition or the campus bookstore. They all come to the RHSA space in O’Leary Library every Friday to get to know each other and learn everything from counseling and tutoring to campus health resources, says Esmeralda Levesque, RHSA program coordinator.
Image by K. Webster
From left: New students Karen Nakigozi, Mariana Taveras, Marina Artiga and Grace Nyambaga have already made friends through First to Launch.
Mariana Taveras, a prospective nursing student from Providence, Rhode Island, signed up to meet other first-generation college students and take a class in medical terminology.
“I also wanted to meet other people in my major because nursing is a very demanding major and I feel like I need to make those connections to get through it – and feel less alone,” she says.
And she did. On a recent Friday, Taveras laughed over lunch with fellow nursing student Marina Artiga of Chelsea, Massachusetts, and two other new friends. Taveras and Artiga will both move into the River Hawk Scholars Academy living and learning community this fall.
UML Start
UML Liftoff is open to all prospective students, including incoming UMass Lowell first-year students from all colleges and majors, as well as incoming 11th and 12th-year high school students.
Students at Liftoff take one or two summer courses either online or on campus—new UML students receive a discount on the first course—and receive tutoring and regular meetings with advisors for the first year.
While fewer students participate than in the more specialized programs, the course selection is wider, Gerstenfield says, and the Honors College version includes the popular “Designing Your Life” experience, which helps students develop a detailed plan to achieve their college and life goals.
Image by K. Webster
Chelmsford High School student Nathan Nguyen presents his team’s results to Dean of Engineering Assoc., Kavitha Chandra, during RAMP.
RAMP – Research, Academic and Mentoring Pathways
RAMP, the Francis College of Engineering’s six-week program, introduces UML first-year students, as well as 11th and 12th grade students, to engineering teamwork, research opportunities with faculty, and potential career paths.
The program, which is provided free to students thanks to grants and scholarships from industry, includes a four-credit mathematics course (Analysis II or Analysis I), field trips to companies, discussions with faculty, alumni and industry professionals, and a product design project that also strengthens students’ computer skills.
“I’m surprised at how much I enjoy programming,” says Abbey Nass, a chemical engineering major from Princeton, Massachusetts. “I really like the teamwork; everyone comes from so many different places and backgrounds.”
Nathan Nguyen, a rising 12th grader at Chelmsford High School, especially enjoyed visiting the Lowell Center for Space Science and Technology and learning about computer architecture from Assistant Professor Orlando Arias.
“What I like most is that I can look around the campus and get to know the different departments and their work, as well as meet individual professors and hear about their experiences,” he says.
RAMP aims to improve the skills of students from groups underrepresented in engineering, including women, freshmen and students of color, says Associate Dean Kavitha Chandra, who launched RAMP in summer 2018.
From 2018 to 2023, 110 students participated, including 83 women, say Chandra and Paulette Brooks, managers of undergraduate programs and public relations. And of the 19 high school students who joined RAMP in the past two summers, seven have enrolled at UMass Lowell.
Nguyen could join that group; he says he plans to apply to UML.
This year, for the first time, RAMP is also offering leadership training so students can continue their mission of promoting diversity in engineering both on campus and at outreach events in the new RAMP Club, Chandra says.
Image by Brooke Coupal
Prospective computer science students Molly Cao and Olivia Porto receive a box of freebies and a programmable device from SoarCS.
SoarCS
SoarCS is a free, four-week program for freshmen computer science majors. Like RAMP, students from all backgrounds are encouraged to participate.
Conducted partly online and partly on campus, SoarCS introduces students to three programming environments: MYR, a web-based platform that allows students to create virtual reality scenes; micro:bit, a pocket-sized programmable computer; and Python, a programming language commonly used for building web pages and data mining.
“I’ve never used a 3D program that requires you to write code, so it’s been really cool to learn about MYR,” says Olivia Porto of Pelham, New Hampshire, one of 50 students participating this summer. “I’m getting to know the campus and my class locations better and I’m meeting a lot of new people and professors, all of whom are super friendly.”
SoarCS is sponsored by Red Hat and Teradyne.
Image by K. Webster
Transfer students receive information about funding programs at the orientation event.
STEM Starter Academy
The STEM Starter Academy is a bridge program for all community college students in Massachusetts who are interested in transferring to UMass Lowell or another four-year school to pursue a bachelor’s degree in engineering, science, mathematics, technology, quantitative economics, or certain health science majors.
Although the structure is similar to First to Launch, students may choose any summer course that counts toward their major or core curriculum requirements, whether the course is in person or online, and participation is free.
Students planning to transfer to UMass Lowell are encouraged to enroll in the Transfer Alliance Program (TAP), which provides support, resources, and peer mentoring during their first semester.
CatalyseUML
First-year chemistry students can benefit from CatalyzeUML, a free three-day program in which students live on campus, eat at the Fox Dining Commons, and participate in a scavenger hunt on North Campus.
This year, 12 students will gain laboratory experience in forensics and nanoscience, participate in team-building exercises and learn about research, internship and collaboration opportunities from alumni and faculty, says Assistant Professor of Chemistry Michael Ross.
“It is designed to give them a good sense of community as they start the new year, to generate enthusiasm and motivation for studying chemistry, and to give them the skills they need to succeed in our major,” Ross says.
