The Grove | Valencia College

Students Invited to Present at 2017 Louis Stokes Midwest Center of Excellence Conference

Oct

13

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A Message from Kathleen Plinske, President, Osceola, Lake Nona and Poinciana Campuses

As part of our Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Bridges to Baccalaureate program, an enthusiastic group of nine students and project staff, representing the Central Florida STEM Alliance, traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana, for the fifth annual conference of the Louis Stokes Midwest Center of Excellence (LSMCE). Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis, in collaboration with Chicago State University and Argonne National Laboratory, hosted this year’s conference. The conference theme, Take Action: Reaching Deeper into the Nation’s Diverse Pool of STEM Talent, reflected the mission and commitment of LSMCE to expand the talent pool of underrepresented minority students poised to diversify the STEM workforce. Conference attendance exceeded 400 students, faculty, staff and agency personnel.

From Valencia, five student participants who attended the conference were invited to present their research. They joined 128 other LSAMP students from across the country whose abstracts were accepted for presentation during the conference. Osceola students Belinda Joseph and Myriam Velez Ramos presented their research involving nanomaterials and bioacoustics, respectively. While not a presenter, Osceola student Victor Roman also attended the conference and described it as “truly a life-changing experience.”

In addition to the poster session, the conference offered a student-track focused on professional skills development. Brian Thomas of KIPNspire Group facilitated the student track at the conference.

For each of the students, attending the 2017 LSMCE Conference was a sound investment for the future.

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