Summer program makes STEM success part of the equation
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“They’re on their toes. They’re thinking about their future.”
That’s how Cal State Fullerton math professor David Pagni sums up the high school girls who take part in Project MISS (Mathematics Intensive Summer Session) each summer.
The program, which Pagni started in 1990, brings teens to campus for seven-hour days during which they sharpen their algebraic and precalculus skills. Besides preparing them for the rest of their high school math studies, the program sets them on a path to university-level math and related majors.
This summer’s four-week program drew 68 students from 34 high schools in Orange and Los Angeles counties. Students don’t receive academic credit for the program, which is free to them; meals, books, materials and supplies are provided at no cost. Pagni keeps the program free with funding from the Mathematical Association of America and corporate sponsors.
This July, Esmeralda Antonio, 16, left her Los Angeles home at 5:30 a.m. every weekday to catch a train and a bus to Cal State Fullerton.
“I like the method of teaching because the math stays in your mind — so you don’t forget it,” said Antonio, who took the precalculus class so she would excel in the same course this coming school year at the California Academy of Mathematics and Science in Carson.
About 20 percent of the program’s graduates over the years have gone into STEM careers, Pagni said. Many want to become doctors or other professionals; many become teachers. About one-third go on to attend Cal State Fullerton.
“A lot of students struggle with math, and that’s why they come here; they don’t want to struggle, they want to learn how to do math,” Pagni said. “MISS is a nurturing environment. There are no grades and no homework. It’s a program where female students are taught by female peers who know math.”
To find out the criteria and how to apply: fullerton.edu/miss
— Wendy Fawthrop