Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

NSF grant boosts engineering diversity

Photos and story by James Hill

by James HillAt the age of 40, Elaine Pacheco knows how quickly the employment world can change.She worked for Panasonic in Vancouver, Wash., as a hardware installer on replay televisions, VCRs and TV cabinets. It was a job she enjoyed. But in 2001 the economy turned sour and she was a casualty. Today the Tennessee native works for a rental video outfit in The Dalles. Despite losing her Panasonic job, one that she relished, Pacheco is working to get back into microelectronics as she takes part of a unique program through Columbia Gorge and Portland community colleges.The colleges are increasing access and diversity in engineering and microelectronics careers thanks to a $400,000, four-year grant from the National Science Foundation”s Computer Science, Engineering, and Mathematics Scholarships (CSEMS) program. This grant enables students who are underrepresented in these fields – African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans and women – to receive a $3,000 per-year scholarship for up to two years. For most students it’s welcome help in a challenging field. "This program means a lot to me," Pacheco said. "The program is extremely difficult but phenomenal. I can’t describe it. There is the constant studying and you have to work harder than others to simply keep up. It’s really hard."With the scholarship come activities students take part in. They update their progress at monthly meetings and have one-on-one meetings with a department coordinator to stay on course for graduation. Also, the students gain industry experience through mentoring and field trips to project locations. "The beautiful thing is that the CSEMS program is very broad-based and it will allow graduates to work in most science and engineering-based fields," said Todd Sanders, who coordinates the grant project and is an instructor in the PCC civil and mechanical engineering technology program. "It can extend to a technician who does sampling out in the field to a construction manager who oversees design and implementation of computer chip manufacturing."And it’s very hands-on. For example, the students will visit the City of Portland’s Big Pipe Project, a 15-year endeavor to fix the sewer overflow in Portland to experience engineering, planning, design and implementation first-hand. Students are also paired with industry mentors from the project’s partner list, including Clackamas County Surface Water, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, City of Portland and the Bonneville Power Administration. "It’s a mentorship where we integrate weekly interaction between the student and the mentor," said Sanders. "They need to know that somebody else is out there interested in their success."Twenty-four-year-old scholar Angela Jungling of Hillsboro says it’s working. "I think it’s really great, not only receiving a full ride to a two-year degree, but I have been hooked up with a mentor and we talk all the time through email," Jungling said. "We got to pick who we wanted and what kind of person we wanted to meet from the industry partners. It keeps you on track really well." Then there’s the 22-year-old Tirusew Belayneh of northeast Portland, who came to the U.S. several years ago from Ethiopia to study electronic engineering. He says the CSEMS program is not for the faint of heart and requires a lot of work."I want to eventually work in the States so it is good that this helps students like me out," said Belayneh. "There are a lot of people who help me and want to make sure I get the work done."The Dalles has been hit by lay-offs affecting numerous sectors. The NSF program is already helping people get back to work."People come into the electronic engineering technology program hoping to build a new future for themselves, to earn a family-wage, find a job that they actually enjoy," says Kristen Kane, part-time engineering technology instructor at Columbia Gorge Community College. "The scholarships allow students to focus more time on their studies, and their families instead of just trying to make ends meet."For Elaine Pacheco, the hard work is worth it. "It’s the biggest challenge of my life," she said. "I have had a lot challenges, but this takes the cake."