We set new records in OEOP in 2019: 464 donors gave generously this year, 35% more donors than in 2018. Included in that number are more than 300 unique alumni and friends who gave during our Giving Tuesday, and Pi-Day 24 Hour Challenge. With this achievement, we were able to serve 340 students across our SEED Academy, MITES and MOSTEC programs.
SEED in the Spring
123 students grades 7-12 from Boston, Cambridge, and Lawrence, Massachusetts, got up early and came to MIT for 8 Saturdays during their spring semester to attend SEED Academy. They learned about Engineering Design (7th grade), Environmental Engineering (8th grade), Mechanical Engineering (9th grade), Robotics (10th grade), Aero/Astro Engineering (11th grade), and Biological Engineering (12th grade). In addition to their STEM-focused courses, students strengthened skills like resume-building, essay writing in an Academic Mentoring Seminar tailored for each grade. At the end of the semester, students presented their project course learnings in their Spring Symposium.
Summer Recap
In the summer, 217 rising high-school seniors from communities around the country, and abroad, arrived to MIT to explore their passion in science and engineering through the MITES and MOSTEC programs. Students strengthened their math and science core, immersed themselves in a hands-on project course, and presented their final projects in two all-day Final Symposiums. Over the course of the programs, students built confidence and community, and learned what it is like to pursue a career in STEM.
MITES 2019
The MITES Class of 2019 was made up of 80 students from 25 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, Ghana and Nicaragua. On campus for six weeks, students experienced the life of an MIT freshman taking core courses in physics, calculus, life-sciences and humanities, and one project course of their choice: Engineering Design, Electronics, Machine Learning, Genomics, or Architecture. Students learned about a variety of science and engineering fields through talks and tours to the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center Tour, MIT International Design Center, MIT Lincoln Lab, the Koch Institute, the Broad Institute, and Novartis. They also got a taste of Boston and New England, joining the 4th of July Fireworks on the Esplanade, and enjoying a beach day at Old Orchard Beach in Maine. At the end of the program, students showed off their technical skills at their Final Symposium, and their critical thinking abilities in a Humanities Conference.
MOSTEC 2019
The MOSTEC Class of 2019 was made up of 137 students from 32 U.S. states, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, and Sudan. In the academic portion of their program, taken online, students took courses in physics, calculus and science writing, along with a project course including Astrophysics, Computational Biology, Data Visualization, Design Thinking, Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, Machine Learning, Mobile App Development, or Neuroscience. This was the first year we offered physics and calculus in the MOSTEC curriculum for students who do not have access to advanced courses at school.
During the academic phase students worked in teams and began crafting and developing their final projects. At the beginning of August, the entire class arrived at MIT for their week-long MOSTEC Conference. On campus, students met their classmates and instructors in person, explored different areas of STEM through a variety of workshops, finalized their projects and presented in their Final Symposium. At MIT students also attended a college fair and explored Boston in cluster outings. During the fall, the MOSTEC class will continue to meet for weekly webinars on college preparation topics, completing the enrichment phase of their program.