Beck and Biller received Mentor-Connect mentoring in 2013-14 from Mel Cossette, principal investigator National Resource Center for Materials Technology Education (MatEdU) and a seven-year mentor for Mentor-Connect.

Their first ATE project was Revolutionary Opportunities for Highly Educated Unmanned Aircraft Systems Technicians (DUE #1501629).

The abstract for their second ATE grant—Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Geospatial Information Technology Integration into Technician Education (DUE #1700615) states “Northland has the only accredited UAS maintenance program in the country and has helped define nationally recognized credentials in partnership with American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and SpaceTEC. It launched the first two-year AAS degree program in the country in Geospatial Intelligence Analysis to respond to the growing need for technicians educated in this high demand career field and has recently created a small UAS Field Service Technician Program to develop the knowledge base in technical proficiencies required as small UAS are integrated into the national airspace system (NAS).”

The center grant is the third ATE grant that Beck is leading. Read more about the Center for Autonomous Technologies in this Community College Daily article. http://www.ccdaily.com/2019/07/funding-roundup-129/

Congratulations to Jonathan Beck and Thomas Biller, former @Mentor-Connect mentees (Cohort 2) featured in the photo along with their grant writer/administrator Curtis Zoller when they received formal mentoring from Mentor-Connect. They are the principal investigator and co-principal investigator, respectively, of the newest ATE Center –the Center for Autonomous Technologies (NCAT) at (@NorthlandCTC) Northland Community and Technical College’s Aerospace Campus in Minnesota. The center grant is the third ATE grant that Beck is leading. Read more about the Center for Autonomous Technologies in this Community College Daily article: http://bit.ly/30BCOfb.

In addition to one-on-one time with their mentors 20 faculty teams received granular-detail tips during Mentor-Connect’s Summer Technical Assistance and Grants Workshop on July 23 in St. Louis.

They heard from V. Celeste Carter and Thomas B. Higgins, two National Science Foundation program officers, three former Mentor-Connect mentees—Laura Berry of North Arkansas College, Justin Tickhill of North Central State College, and Ken Mays of Central Oregon Community College–whose ATE grants have instigated other positive changes on their campuses, as well as Mentor-Connect staff members.

All the speakers at the daylong workshop encouraged the mentees to submit their proposals to the Advanced Technological Education program in advance of the October 3 deadline.

To boost their confidence in the final stretch of proposal preparations, Mentor-Connect Evaluator David Hata shared the news that 15 of the 21 community colleges that received Mentor-Connect mentoring in 2018 have received funding awards from the National Science Foundation in the Small-Grants-for-Colleges-New-to ATE program track.

“We’re really, really excited about the success of Cohort 6,” Principal Investigator Elaine Craft said, referring to 2018 mentee teams who set a new one-year record of successful proposals for Mentor-Connect.

“Our success rate is about 70% and a lot of credit goes to our team of mentors,” Hata said. He also praised Mentor-Connect’s leadership team for making adjustments to the program in response to mentees’ and mentors’ comments and other data. “We’ve tried to improve the program each year,” he said.

Energy and enthusiasm was high among the mentees throughout the day’s panel discussions and team work sessions.

Skip Berry, assistant of Business, Information Systems and Technology at Riverside City College, was grateful for the question-and-answer session with the NSF program offices. “Their very direct feedback was very helpful,” he said.

Susan Ingersoll, professor and program director of Biotechnology at the Lake Nona Campus of Valencia Community College, was impressed by the expertise of her mentor Elaine Johnson and the other presenters. “They explain the nuances you wouldn’t get from a webinar or reading the PAPPG (Proposal and Award Policies and Procedures Guide),” she said.  

Ron Umehira, dean of Career and Technical Education at Leeward Community College, thanked the Mentor-Connect for the opportunity to learn at the workshop and at the HI-TEC Conference, which the mentees are attending with support from the American Association of Community Colleges.

Craft’s wrap up message blended optimism with a strong nudge to finish strong: “We fully expect most of you to be implementing grants this time next year.”

Jonathan Beck, principal investigator of the recently funded National Center for Autonomous Technologies (NCAT) attributes the new center’s “systems of systems” approach for autonomous vehicle technicians to what he and other team members have learned from the Advanced Technological Education (ATE) community beginning with Mentor-Connect.

He credits Mel Cossette, who was the Mentor-Connect mentor of the Northland Community and Technical College team led by Beck in 2014, with setting those collaborative relationships in motion. Cossette, who is principal investigator of National Resource Center for Materials Technology Education (MatEdU), continues to serve as an informal advisor to the Northland team.

“She was instrumental in helping to guide us based on where we were going, what we were trying to accomplish, who good contacts would be for some of the core areas that we were trying to shape and grow through our small project, our large project, and ultimately the center. And without that guidance of those key points of contact as we formed our network, I don’t think we would have been successful on getting to where we are at with the ATE program. I think it is because of that constant mentoring, making sure our ideas were aligned to the program, and helping us identify those right resources that were already out there. That’s what’s allowed us to be so successful in such a short period of time,” Beck said during an interview at the 2019 HI-TEC Conference in St. Louis.  

Read the August 5 ATE Impacts Blog to learn more about the cross-discipline partnerships the new center plans to use to prepare technicians for careers working on unmanned vehicles that operate on land, sea, or air.

Mentor-Connect is led by the South Carolina Advanced Technological Education Center at Florence-Darlington Technical College in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges.

Mentor-Connect: A Leadership Development and Outreach Initiative for the National Science Foundation Advanced Technological Education (NSF ATE) community in partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) hosted its annual Technical Assistance and Grant Writing Winter Workshop in New Orleans, LA at the Loews New Orleans Hotel on Wednesday, January 29 through Friday, January 31.

In attendance were, twenty-two college teams representing seventeen states and ninety participants including forty-five STEM faculty, nineteen grant writers, eleven mentors, five mentor fellows, two special guests, and eight Mentor-Connect/SCATE Center personnel. The team that traveled the furthest for the workshop was American Samoa Community College, located in Samoa, a United States territory. Other teams in the eighth cohort hailed from small, rural community colleges in North Dakota, Wyoming, Arkansas and larger, urban campuses in California, Illinois, and New York.

Over the three very intensive workshop days, Cohort Eight participants and others learned how to create and prepare successful proposals in an effort to increase their chances of receiving a grant from the NSF in the Small Grants for Institutions New to ATE track. Colleges are considered new to ATE if they have not received ATE funding in the past seven years. According to Emily Cash, Grants and Donor Relations Manager at Bismarck State College, [the workshop] was a great event, well-organized, and provided a ton of great information.”

Topics, activities, and exercises covered included:

• Day 1: Leadership Opportunity, Evaluation and Logic Models, Components of an ATE Proposal, and Writing a Competitive Proposal

• Day 2: Mock Panel Review, Special Break-Out Session for grant writers and administrators, Transforming your Goals into a Work Plan, and Developing an Elevator Speech

• Day 3: Defining Elements of Collaboration with your Mentor, and Delivering your Elevator Speech

Since 2012, Mentor-Connect has helped rural and urban two-year colleges — with large populations of students that have been historically underrepresented in STEM careers — build institutional capacity and faculty leadership skills through the process of preparing proposals to the NSF ATE program. 

In addition to the aforementioned workshop, Cohort Eight participants will have periodic conference calls with their mentors and access to an online technical resource collection as well as will be attending a summer workshop, held in conjunction with the High Impact Technology Exchange Conference to continue to expand their knowledge about proposal development, NSF, and ATE. Mentor-Connect also plans to hold two webinars this year on projecting budgeting and specifically completing forms for an NSF ATE proposal.

Mentor-Connect is an ATE-funded project of the South Carolina Advanced Technological Education Center of Excellence at Florence-Darlington Technical College, housed in the Southeastern Institute of Manufacturing and Technology.

For more information about Mentor-Connect, visit our website at http://www.mentor-connect.org/.

Students new to the Florence-Darlington Technical College (FDTC)’s S-STEM (Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Tech Stars Scholarship program participated this spring (February 12, 2020) in a more in-depth orientation. Supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, Tech Stars allows FDTC to provide at least thirty scholarships annually to financially needy, academically talented students through the Virtual Cyber Generation Tech Stars (VCGTS) scholarship program.

The Tech Stars project contributes to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by assisting high achieving, low-income students with demonstrated need who major in one of the three related associate degree STEM programs within FDTC's Division of Technical and General Education, such as Computer Technology/Network Systems Management, Industrial Technologies, or Engineering Technologies.

The FDTC Tech Stars’ scholarship model combines both evidence-based and innovative new practices that will close the digital divide for diverse scholars and support cohesive student cohorts to advance students' knowledge and understanding of STEM careers and the skilled technical workplace. The model includes faculty mentoring, Z-Space laptop technical support, customized financial assistance, academic supports, personal coaching, and resource connections.

In an effort to ease students’ apprehension to finding FDTC’s resources and on-campus support, the Tech Stars Scholarship Program orientation, “Lunch and Learn” session was held on February 12, 2020, for approximate twenty-five Technology degree-seeking students. The session was organized so students could learn more about the Tech Star scholarship requirements, financial aid, personal responsibility, academic, and student support opportunities, résumé building, student internship opportunities, and more.

The South Carolina Advanced Technological Education (SCATE) Center of Excellence administers the National Science Foundation’s S-STEM grant program. “There have been some really great conversations at these sessions,” said Rick Roberts, Managing Director, SCATE. “A lot of their questions are about how students can become and remain involved, discover opportunities to connect with other students, on-campus support, access to internships, and a lot more. For us, the orientation help to keep the students on the proper path to guide their journey here at FDTC.” The Tech Stars’ orientation is the first step in building a cohort of students that can support and assist each other as they maneuver through the college experience.

Tech Star students that could not attend the orientation session or desire additional information can speak individually with Roberts to review program requirements and expectations as well as how to connect with internship opportunities from local and regional industry partners.

For more information about the Tech Stars Scholarship Program, please visit www.scate.org or call us at 843-676-8547.

Students new to the Florence-Darlington Technical College (FDTC)’s S-STEM (Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Tech Stars Scholarship program participated this Spring (February 2023) in a more in-depth orientation. The porject supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, Tech Stars allows FDTC to provide at least thirty scholarships annually to financially needy, academically talented students through the Virtual Cyber Generation Tech Stars (VCGTS) scholarship program.

The Tech Stars project contributes to the national need for well-educated scientists, mathematicians, engineers, and technicians by assisting high achieving, low-income students with demonstrated need who major in one of the three related associate degree STEM programs within FDTC's Division of Technical and General Education, such as Computer Technology/Network Systems Management, Industrial Technologies, or Engineering Technologies.

The FDTC Tech Stars’ scholarship model combines both evidence-based and innovative new practices that will close the digital divide for diverse scholars and support cohesive student cohorts to advance students' knowledge and understanding of STEM careers and the skilled technical workplace. The model faculty mentoring, a Z-Space laptop technical support, MI-FI hotspots, customized financial assistance including tuition, books and supplies, academic supports, personal coaching, and resource connections.

In an effort to help guide students to finding FDTC’s resources and on-campus support, the Tech Stars Scholarship Program Spring 2023 orientation, “Lunch and Learn” session was held for approximate twenty Technology degree-seeking students. The session was organized so students could learn more about the Tech Star scholarship requirements, financial aid, personal responsibility, academic, and student support opportunities, résumé building, and student internship opportunities. Industry Representatives Seak Be and Lauren Cullen, Director of Human Resources from Nan Ya Plastics also presented comprehensive career paths and industry expectations for incoming employment candidates.

The South Carolina Advanced Technological Education (SCATE) Center of Excellence administers the National Science Foundation’s S-STEM grant program. “There is great information sharing at our sessions,” said Rick Roberts, Managing Director, SCATE. “A lot of their questions are about how students can become and remain involved, discover opportunities to connect with employers and other students, what campus supports can they access and connections to internships. For us, the orientations help to keep the students on the proper path to guide their journey here at FDTC.” The Tech Stars’ orientation is the first step in building a cohort of students that can support and assist each other as they maneuver through the college experience.

Tech Star students who need additional information can speak individually with Mr. Roberts to review program requirements and expectations as well as how to connect with internship opportunities from local and regional industry partners.

For more information about the Tech Stars Scholarship Program, please visit www.scate.org and click on the Students tab or call us at 843-676-8547.

Pee Dee Scholars Spring 2023 “Lunch and Learn” Session

Students new to the Florence-Darlington Technical College (FDTC)’s S-STEM (Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) Pee Dee Scholars program participated this Spring (March 2023) in a more in-depth orientation. The project supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) grant, Pee Dee Scholars allows FDTC to provide at least eight scholarships annually to financially needy, academically talented students through the Pee Dee Scholars scholarship program. The scholarship includes support for tuition, books, fees and supplies. The scholars also receive a “loan to own” Z Space 3D laptop and MI-FI wireless device supported by the scholarship. Pee Dee scholars in the cohort at FDTC and that transfer to Coker University(CU) , CU commits to support the PDS transfers with continuing scholarships from both the S-STEM grant and from institutional funds for additional two years or until graduation.

In an effort to help guide students in finding FDTC’s resources and on-campus support, the Pee Dee Scholars Scholarship Program Spring 2023 orientation, “Lunch and Learn” session was held on in the SIMT Building on March 7, 2023 students enrolled in the Associate of Science degree track. The session was organized so the (6 ) current FDTC Pee Dee Scholars students could learn more about their Pee Dee Scholars scholarship requirements, including financial aid, academic, and student support opportunities, résumé building, and our unique student bridge to transfer to Coker University as part of the Pee Dee Scholars program.

The SCATE Center hosted the informational session that was attended by several Pee Dee Scholars as well as FDTC science faculty. Rick Roberts, Co-Principal Investigator highlighted the provisions of the scholarship including acceptance to Coker University and continued scholarship support for students who transfer from FDTC to Coker University. Dr. Joseph Flaherty, Principal Investigator and Professor of Biology; Director of Undergraduate Research; Coordinator of the Biology Education Program at Coker University and Dr Katie Flaherty, Vice President of Institutional Effectiveness presented current student supports for incoming Coker students and comprehensive transfer paths and supports specific to Pee Dee Scholars as they chart their path to Coker University to pursue their bachelor degree.

The South Carolina Advanced Technological Education (SCATE) Center of Excellence administers the National Science Foundation’s S-STEM grant program. “This session promoted information sharing and specific pathways to Coker University,” said Rick Roberts, Co-Principal Investigator on the Pee Dee Scholars grant and Managing Director of the SCATE Ctr. “A lot of the student questions are about how students can become and remain involved, discover opportunities to connect with employers and other students, what each campus supports they access and making connections to internships. For us, the orientations help to keep the students on the proper path to guide their journey here at FDTC.” The Pee Dee Scholars orientation is the first step in building a cohort of students that can support and assist each other as they maneuver through the college experience here and if they choose to transfer, at Coker University.