CONTACTS:
• Armetta Burney, director of Southwest Washington MESA, 360-546-9355, aburney@vancouver.wsu.edu
• Brenda Alling, Office of Marketing and Communications, 360-546-9601, brenda_alling@vancouver.wsu.edu
VANCOUVER, Wash. - Southwest Washington Math, Engineering and Science Achievement program (MESA) will host its sixth annual MESA Day from 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. March 20 at Clark College.
MESA provides enriching educational opportunities that help build a pathway to college and careers in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields for students who are currently underrepresented in those fields-African American, Latino, Native American, and female. Southwest Washington MESA is housed at Washington State University Vancouver.
MESA Day is a festival of learning, discovery, competitions, activities and fun events that encourage camaraderie and spark interest in math, engineering and science. Middle and high school students from the Vancouver, Evergreen and Hockinson school districts will have the opportunity to showcase their design, problem solving, mathematical and communication skills on a competitive basis at this MESA Day event.
"MESA Day is an exciting event for our students. They have dedicated a significant amount of time preparing for this event, and are looking forward to competing. One of our objectives is for students who participate in MESA activities to envision themselves as future engineers and scientists," said Armetta Burney, Director of Southwest Washington MESA.
Southwest Washington MESA has introduced the Wind Energy Challenge as the pre-built competition this year. Students have already constructed windmill devices designed to capture and use available wind energy to complete a set of defined tasks. They will demonstrate their projects at the event. Students will also participate in a Math Olympiad, and will take on several integrated engineering challenges.
Parents and family members are invited to attend the events throughout the day, including a seminar on "Financial Aid and Scholarships," from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. in Foster Hall-Auditorium. An awards ceremony caps off the day.
Southwest Washington MESA partners include Â鶹´«Ã½, Clark College, Hewlett Packard, College Spark, Bank of America and Qwest. Individuals interested in volunteering should call Burney at 360-546-9355.
Â鶹´«Ã½ is celebrating 20 years of bringing quality education, research and service to the citizens of Southwest Washington. The campus is located at 14204 NE Salmon Creek Ave., east of the 134th Street exit from either I-5 or I-205, or via C-Tran bus service. Â鶹´«Ã½ offers 16 bachelor's degrees, 10 master's degrees, one doctorate degree and more than 36 fields of study. Learn more at .
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