Active-duty military personnel and veterans looking to get ready for the transition to undergraduate STEM studies were welcomed to Caltech for the fourth consecutive year.
Success in Higher Education and Beyond
The Warrior-Scholar Project (WSP), which was established in 2012 “to propel enlisted veterans and service members towards success in higher education and beyond,” recently welcomed 10 warrior-scholars to Caltech’s campus. These people attended talks by scientists from Caltech and JPL, STEM tutorials led by WSP student veterans, and training on time management and other crucial strategies for academic achievement from June 25 to June 30.
Veterans have commented that the strict discipline of military life, among other elements, has well-prepared them for higher education. However, because higher education has its own culture, bootcamp participants receive a crash training in everything from taking part in class and prioritizing study time to forming a network of friends with faculty, staff, and other students.
Warren Knowles, who is now serving in the Navy but plans to pursue mathematics, computer science, or perhaps economics in college, says there is simply an inertia to returning to school as an adult. “Even though I’m 31 today, I’d be attending school alongside 18-year-olds. But we also have other encounters. The programme aids in overcoming our initial lethargy. It’s possible that military personnel are unaware of need-based funding, veteran communities at many schools, or the high number of nontraditional students in many schools. One of the things I discovered this week is that.
Shina Adegoke, a postdoctoral research associate in physics at Caltech, gave a presentation to the class on calculating velocity in a straight line. Adegoke added, “The students are fantastic.” “The lesson was engaging and participatory. They were very motivated to succeed.”
What Students Say?
Physics postdoctoral research associate Joanna Piotrowska-Karpov focused on motion in two directions. The pupils, who she described as “very engaged, focused, and genuinely interested in learning during the class,” also made an impression on her. At first, they were a little reserved, but by the end, they were eager to talk and inquire about the class and my area of study.
Two days of lectures on Newton’s laws and energy were provided to WSP attendees by Jameson Rollins, control and data systems software lead for Caltech’s Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO). He quickly guided the pupils through some fundamental physics concepts and the equations required to determine energy and motion. Even the origins of calculus were touched upon. “I just find the experience to be incredibly rewarding,” Rollins claims. “I remember how nice it felt when I started to understand these concepts, so it feels amazing to assist people understand them. It’s good to share that.
Alumni from WSP have either finished their college degrees or are on schedule to do so in 90% of cases. Additionally varied are its alumni: 60% of first-generation college students, 70% persons of colour, and 28% women.
