Well, looks like the Big Sky Country and the Land of Shining Mountains is calling us.
We’ve got some news: the Flathead Valley Community College (FVCC) in Kalipspell, MT was just awarded the famed Track 1, NSF funded- S-STEM grant.
This 6-year NSF scholarship project will utilize an integrated approach to support 30 S-STEM scholars with three primary components: Scholarships, STEM identity and community building, and Mental health and wellness counseling. Scholarships will increase student solvency and decrease financial stress. The project will establish STEM learning communities with common first-year courses and a robust STEM colloquium along with one-on-one faculty mentoring. These components are expected to foster STEM identity and sense of belonging, both of which are predictors of persistence and retention. Students will also be connected to a mental health counselor for regular wellness coaching with the aim of increasing student resilience and sense of well-being. Through these co-curricular offerings the project holds potential to promote understanding of the connection between STEM identity, mental health, and persistence, retention, and resiliency in the pursuit of a STEM degree. Results of the project may also provide a model for local high schools and rural community colleges looking to foster student success through mental health support.
Award abstract: https://nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2220972&HistoricalAwards=false
The Treasure State, here we come!
