Reach for the Stars (Undergraduate Research Partnered with NASA)

The demand for diversified qualified science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates has increased dramatically in recent years, especially with the retirement of baby boomers [1] .Therefore, the nation is facing a serious challenge in educating sufficient numbers of women and underrepresented minorities in the STEM fields to meet the demands of the scientific community.Recruitment and retention are important ways to increase graduation of women and underrepresented minorities.This paper concentrates on retention.There have been many studies on low retention rates among women and underrepresented minorities in STEM disciplines and different conclusions have been drawn [2][3][4] .At Virginia State University, the most important factor for retaining students is the students' interest and motivation.The students need to be interested in STEM, and need to be motivated to perform all of the work necessary to complete a STEM degree.In order to excite and increase the students' interest and motivation, VSU (Virginia State University) and Louisburg College (LC) partnered with NASA to create a summer internship at Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), where eight undergraduates worked with NASA scientists on advanced electrical aeronautic projects.This paper documents the impact that this exciting partnership is having on the students.