Creating "Pivotal Moments" to Support Underrepresented College Students in STEM

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 6
  In Roundtable Session: Creating Pathways to Support Underrepresented Students

Abstract

The low graduation rates of underrepresented students in STEM highlight the importance of academic support interventions. Using Author’s (2011) pivotal moments framework which highlights the role of educators that provide guidance, information, advice, and emotional support to underrepresented students we examined the impact of an intervention at a private liberal arts institution to support underrepresented undergraduate students in STEM fields. A secondary analysis was conducted on the data from in-depth semi-structured interviews that ranged from 30 minutes to 2 hours (N=14). The findings indicate that the intervention program served as an academic, personal, and professional resource for students to help them remain STEM majors, apply to research opportunities, seek internships, and make plans for post-graduation.

Authors

• Cristal Briseida Almonte, Claremont Graduate University

• William Perez, Claremont University - Claremont Graduate University

• Roberta Espinoza, Claremont University - Pitzer College