Celebrating 40 Years of MITES

During the 2015 MITES Symposium, MITES student Reynaldo Cabansag (left) of Alexandria, Virginia explains the building he designed in his architecture elective to MIT Professor Cardinal Warde, who is the faculty director for MITES. Photo: Meredith Lawrence

Left to right, Courtney Brown (MITES ’08), Monica Crespo SB ’09 (MITES ’04), Luis Somoza SB ’09 (MITES ’04), Rachael Holmes (MITES ’06), and OEOP Executive Director Shawna Young reconnect at an OEOP alumni mixer held at the Liberty Hotel. Photo: Meredith Lawrence

Cheryl Whiteman Brooks ’84 (MITES ’79), speaks about her MITES experience and its influence on her career path at the Alumni Brunch and Share-a-thon. Photo: Meredith Lawrence

Members of the MITES class of 2015 cheer for their peers during the annual sports tournament between students in MITES and the MIT Office of Minority Education’s Interphase EDGE, a summer program for incoming MIT freshmen. This year, alumni and funders were invited to watch as part of the MITES 40th Anniversary Kick-Off Weekend. Photo: Meredith Lawrence

OEOP alumni, students, funders, and friends arrive at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge for the MITES 40th Anniversary Launch Party. Photo: Lillie Paquette

Ximena Hasbach, a MITES 2014 alumna and MIT freshman, peruses a timeline that chronicles the history of MITES since 1975 at the MITES 40th Anniversary Launch Party. Photo: Victoria Quamme

MITES instructors pose in the photo booth at the MITES 40th Anniversary Launch Party. Instructors pictured are (clockwise from top left): Aaron Ewall-Wice, Joe Steinmeyer, Christopher Brunner, Mary Caulfield, Michael Craig, Ryan Marnane, Lynn Kee, Jamie Lichtenstein, and Marlene Kuhn. Photo: Meredith Lawrence

A total of 257 OEOP alumni, students, funders, staff members, and friends celebrated 40 years of the MITES program with an evening of reconnecting, reminiscing, and dancing at the MITES 40th Anniversary Launch Party. Photo: Lillie Paquette

Left to right: Corning representative Gregory Williams, former OEOP Executive Director Dedric Carter, MIT Professor Wesley L. Harris, current OEOP Executive Director Shawna Young, and former MITES Director Karl Reid pose for a photo at the MITES 40th Anniversary Launch Party. Photo: Lillie Paquette

By Sydney Lester

Over the summer, a series of events culminating in a gala at the Hyatt Regency Cambridge launched the celebration of the 40th anniversary of Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES), a program that has provided talented high school seniors from across the country with the opportunity to study science and engineering free of charge at MIT each year since 1975. Those who attended the MITES 40th Anniversary Kickoff Weekend included 257 students, alumni, staff, funders, and friends of MITES and other programs offered by the MIT Office of Engineering Outreach Programs.

Read the full article on MIT News.