The Omaha STEM Ecosystem (OSE) is a multi-stakeholder collaborative network (MSCN) with active members from six key stakeholder groups (Business, Education, Family, Government, Non-Profit, and Science Centers and Museums). OSE serves as a connecting agency which leverages the social capital of these member stakeholders to address the STEM…

The need for a STEM literate workforce has presented a complex issue on both the national and local level. The Omaha STEM Ecosystem was established in 2016 as a connecting agency to leverage the social capital of member stakeholders in addressing STEM workforce gaps by strengthening the availability of STEM pipeline learning opportunities in the…

This qualitative study employed the concepts of validating and institutional agents to explore the roles that community college practitioners play in the retention of racially minoritized students in STEM programs. Grounded in Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory, the conceptual framework was used to identify affirming practices leveraged by…

My dissertation consists of three chapters in the field of labor and education economics. The first chapter studies the impact of early morning classes on students' educational trajectories. The second chapter explores how college course shutouts affects students' educational outcomes. The third chapter investigates the impact of kindness on wage…

Currently, only 22% of high school graduates meet the basic requirements for one or more college courses in mathematics, science, reading, or English signifying fewer students with the skills to enter careers in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) (Smithsonian Science Education Center, 2015). In contrast, science and…

The Helping Outstanding Pupils Educationally (HOPE) scholarship marked a significant advancement in education by offering expanded opportunities for Georgia students earning a high school GPA of 3.00 or higher to attend a University System of Georgia (USG) institution. This quantitative study examined individuals who earned a bachelor's degree…

The United States is trailing competing nations in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education threatening the prosperity of our nation's most vital industries. Internationally, our students rank below other large or high-income economies in math and science assessments while interest and proficiency in STEM-related careers is…

Objective: This study explored views of outstanding leadership among the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) professionals working in the United States within the business and industry sector. U.S. STEM occupations are projected to experience 11.1% growth between 2016 and 2026, higher than the projected 7.4% growth for all…

Electrical engineering undergraduate students have been deprived of opportunities to gain professional development, usually obtained through internships, outreach programs, collaborative education programs, and research initiatives resulting from the global pandemic in 2019. Such opportunities are often the means for students to transition to the…

The Posse program was designed to support diverse student populations to successfully engage in undergraduate education and flourish as both professionals and as community leaders. The UW-Madison Posse program focuses on the development of STEM scholars and leaders. This study studies the experiences of Posse alumni to better understand how the…

A theoretical framework grounded in constructionism and pragmatism theories supported research on learning by doing. This framework underpinned the purpose of this qualitative case study to explore how K-8 STEM teachers facilitated projects utilizing innovative technologies to solve community-based problems. The problem was a lack of connection…

This executive position paper identifies the three year process, 2015/2016-2018/2019 school years, in which a school district's career and technical education district team implemented and completed the Program Improvement Process for Equity (PIPE) Project. To meet the workforce demands of the 21st century, our schools must improve access, equity,…

While women have made significant progress in the work force and in education, gender gaps still exist in many industries and occupations, including science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. This research aims to understand how undergraduate women negotiate gender within STEM fields, looking specifically at these women's…

Considerable research, policy, and programmatic efforts have been dedicated to addressing the participation of particular populations in STEM for decades. Each of these efforts claims equity-related goals; yet, they heavily frame the problem, through pervasive STEM pipeline model discourse, in terms of national needs, workforce supply, and…

The mission of the Virginia Community College workforce development leaders is to expand their training and development services to new and emerging high growth occupational areas in support of Virginia's economic growth and changing workforce needs in each of their regions. This research was designed to identify: high demand occupational skill…