NCSE Selects Three Universities to Launch New EnvironMentors Chapters

June 4, 2010

Washington, DC – Addressing the challenge of engaging under-represented youth in STEM fields, NCSE selected three universities to join the network of EnvironMentors chapters: Heritage University (Toppenish, WA), the first chapter serving Native American students, Kean University (Union, NJ), and Louisiana State University (Baton Rouge, LA). EnvironMentors will now include 11 chapters nationwide serving local high schools in Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Washington, and the District of Columbia. 

NCSE's EnvironMentors Program is a national college access program that prepares under-represented high school students for environment-related science degrees and careers. Students are matched with environmental and science professionals, faculty and college students in one-to-one mentoring relationships. With their mentors' guidance, students develop rigorous environmental science projects to help build valuable critical thinking, research, writing, and communication skills. Students also receive exposure to college life and support in preparing for college.

EnvironMentors chapters facilitate student interest in a wide variety of local and regional topics. The new Heritage University Chapter will engage students in restoration and preservation of natural resources currently underway on the Yakima Indian Reservation. The Kean University Chapter will connect students to issues of habitat fragmentation and urban development, while the Louisiana State University will conduct research on the environmental impacts of the current Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Through EnvironMentors’ hands-on opportunities in the field and laboratory, students gain invaluable insight into the scientific method and a deeper understanding  of the complex local and global environmental issues facing society.

To learn more about EnvironMentors, or how to become a chapter, please visit: www.NCSEonline.org/EnvironMentors

Contact:
Susan Carlson
National Director, EnvironMentors
202-207-0008 or susan@NCSEonline.org