In 1998, a report published by the National Academy of Engineering indicated that diversity within the industry was not representative of the population of the United States. Twenty years later, the industry remains as it was, with few disciplines making headway in educating and employing underrepresented populations, particularly Native American and Hispanic.
Hoping to provide equal access for these populations at New Mexico State University and in the engineering industry, a generous donor recently pledged $125,000 toward the creation of an endowed scholarship for Native American and Hispanic students who major in Chemical and Materials Engineering (CHME) and who demonstrate financial need.
Dr. David Rockstraw, department head of the CHME program at NMSU, said Hispanic students make up roughly two-thirds of the entire undergraduate class. Native American students enrolled in the program, however, are significantly fewer.
Rockstraw, who has been at NMSU for 23 years, explained that students in the program are extremely hard-working, but face financial challenges that can negate degree completion. “College today is different from the days when I went; the majority of students here have multiple jobs outside the classroom,” he said. “Plus, in addition to the academic rigor of the program, CHME undergraduates collectively contribute to roughly 1,000 hours of community service each year.”
He believes that with scholarship support, these students can become some of the program’s most successful because “they already have the motivation and work ethic to balance work, school and service to achieve their goals.”
According to Rockstraw, benefits from the endowment are twofold. Scholarships remove the necessity for students to work multiple jobs by offsetting tuition costs, helping them focus even more intently on their degrees. When coupled with NMSU’s efforts to foster diversity and inclusion through its American Indian program (among others), scholarships also position NMSU to be more competitive for recruitment to the university.
“This endowment is a great recruiting tool to bring our Native American population to NMSU for their degrees,” Michael Ray, director of NMSU’s American Indian Program, said. “And when these students come to NMSU, they are surrounded by our community and develop Aggie values, no matter where they come from. Aggies look after Aggies because we want each other to succeed – on campus and in their destination communities.”
Dr. Andrea Tawney, NMSU Foundation president agrees, “The very mission of NMSU and the NMSU Foundation is to create educational opportunities for all students, allowing them to achieve success with a degree – regardless of financial means – and to work in high-paying careers that address industry needs.”
With a 95 percent placement rate after graduation and an average starting salary of $80,000, Rockstraw knows CHME students are doing great things no matter where they go, even though his preference is to keep graduates local. “Providing financial support to a greater number of students through scholarships allows NMSU to further support the state’s economy by keeping New Mexicans in the education system here and subsequently in the industry within the state,” he said.
“We are honored to have a generous donor who’s taken a vested interest in creating life-changing pathways to success for our Hispanic and Native American populations,” Tawney added. “This endowment follows a number of recently endowed scholarships for Hispanic and Native American students and is further testament to the belief in the potential of the populations it serves, as well as in the value of a chemical and materials engineering degree from NMSU.”
Information from NMSU