NSM Faculty/Staff Newsletter

Student Success & Undergraduate Affairs Update

NSM Student Receives Barry Goldwater Scholarship

Congratulations to Brandon Than, recipient of the Barry Goldwater Scholarship. Than is the second student in the past two years working under the supervision of Biology professor, Dr. Preethi Gunartne, to receive the award. His research focusses on cancer immunotherapy on expanding tumor-targeting T cells through vaccine strategies and enhancing their effectiveness when paired with checkpoint inhibitor therapies.

SEP and TC Energy Host Speed Mentoring Event

On April 16th, TC Energy and the Scholar Enrichment Program (SEP) organized a successful speed mentoring event at the University. Thirty-five SEP scholars attended the event, engaging with seven TC Energy volunteers as they shared insights into their careers and experiences within the energy sector. To maximize student interaction, the event featured seven 7-minute rounds, allowing students to rotate and speak with a different volunteer during each round. Additionally, students waiting their turn were able to speak with NSM staff volunteers at tables where they received guidance on resume building, internship preparation, and strategies for navigating career pathways within STEM. Participants expressed appreciation for the opportunity to gain diverse perspectives and learn about potential career opportunities at TC Energy.

Office of First Year Programs Update

Recruitment, Transition, Retention

• An Academic Information Session was held on April 3rd. 2 professional staff and 1 faculty (Dr. Ana Medrano) supported the event.
• The Academic Excellence Scholarship Call Campaign continues as the Student Leadership Team contact prospective students and their parents/supporters. Approximately 250 students majoring in Chemistry, Earth & Atmospheric Sciences, and Physics were contacted.
• A Cougar Preview open house event was held on April 25. 6 SLT members assisted with the event, which included an information session, a presentation from the Undergraduate Advising Center, a student panel, and an opportunity to tour NSM facilities.
• For the Scholars Invitational event, the OFYP hosted the Academic College Engagement session on April 17 for 108 attendees.

Student Leadership Team (SLT) Update

• Congratulations to our Graduating SLT members! We are so proud of them and grateful for their volunteerism to support NSM students.
• Study Nights were hosted on April 15 for Calculus I and on April 23 for Chemistry I.
• A Mentorship Mixer - Spring Bash was held on April 1. This was an opportunity for students in the Peer Mentorship Program to destress and get crafty!
• StrengthsFinder Incorporation in NSM activities - The OFYP and NSM’s Special Programs Director met with Assistant Vice President of Student Affairs - Student Life on April 22, to discuss strategies to incorporate StrengthsFinder training into SLT training to support first-year students’ success in their programming efforts and mentorship conversations.
• SLT 2026–2027 Cohort has been finalized. 44 new members have been accepted to serve on SLT, and 25 members will be returning.
• SLT Appreciation Week, in alignment with Student Worker Appreciation Week, occurred April 13–17. To recognize and celebrate the efforts of this volunteer group activities included:
  • Thankful For You Bags - All week, SLT members had opportunities to write one another notes of kindness, encouragement, etc.
  • Matcha & Mingle - Tuesday, SLT members were invited to a free drink and opportunity to continue building team bonds amongst each other at The Nook in The RAD.
  • Cookes & Celebration - Wednesday, SLT members were treated to cookies from The Box Bakery.
  • Social Media Shoutouts were held on April 23 where NSM’s Communication Office highlighted SLT members on Instagram.
  • Lunch & Learn Career Power Hour was held on April 24 where NSM’s Associate Dean for Undergraduate Student Success, Donna Stokes and the NSM Career Center director, Dawnelle Prince, discussed strategies for networking, financial planning, and salary negotiation with SLT members.
• A General SLT Meeting was held on April 9, where past events were reviewed, a mentorship check-in was conducted, feedback for the year was received from current SLT members, incoming SLT student information was collected, sixteen (16) graduating seniors were celebrated, and Outstanding Leadership Awards (5) were distributed. In addition, a Co-Chair meeting was held on April 22. Feedback was received from current Co-Chairs to further innovate future programming.

teachHOUSTON Update

• On April 2, 2026, students enrolled in the teachHOUSTON Seminar course participated in a series of mock interviews designed to prepare them for upcoming district career fairs and future employment opportunities. Interviewers included human resource professionals, school principals, and assistant principals from teachHOUSTON’s partner school districts across the Greater Houston area. Through multiple interview rotations, students gained valuable experience in professional communication, received constructive feedback, and engaged in Q&A sessions with district representatives. This experiential learning opportunity allowed students to strengthen their interviewing skills and confidence as they prepare to transition from pre-service teachers to professional STEM educators.
• Drs. Paige Evans, Donna Stokes, Karen Graham and Karla Garza attended and presented at the American Educational Research Association conference in Los Angeles, California from April 7–12, 2026. The first session presented was titled Supporting Secondary Novice STEM Teachers through a Mentor-Mentee Yearlong Induction Program for the Narrative Research special interest group. The second session presented was titled Mentoring: The backbone of an interwoven teacher education and teaching community for the Induction special interest group.
• Dr. Mariam Manuel, alongside April Peters Hawkins, David Horton, and Jerrod Henderson, contributed to the paper A Postdoctoral Program Model: Reimagining Merit, Mentorship, and Cultural Wealth, which was selected for presentation at the American Educational Research Association Annual Meeting as part of the session Transforming Postdoctoral and Early Career Pathways. The work examines approaches to postdoctoral training that broaden definitions of merit and strengthen mentorship and professional learning structures.
• teachHOUSTON’s ongoing monthly professional development for the STEM-Lead grant met on Saturday, April 11. One of the goals of the STEM-Lead grant is to grow teacher leader capacity in the areas of mentoring, classroom management, and engineering design process.
• Dr. Mariam Manuel was recognized at the President’s Circle Awards for major grant activity, reflecting the collective efforts of her collaborators, students, and community partners through the Authentic Community Engaged Scholars (ACES) in STEM Education program.
• Dr. Jacqueline Ekeoba co-authored an article with a fellow Tech graduate who was a Mathematics teacher at the time of enacting the lesson. The article came out this month in NCTM’s Mathematics Teacher: Learning and Teaching PK-12 4th edition titled “Students STEM-ing for Fair Greenspace Communities”. It centers using a project-based approach with approximately 80 fifth graders who investigated scale factors using Google Earth and other science-based applets to contextualize the design of a community greenspace. The lessons of the unit generated age-appropriate discussions around social inequities in greenspace allocations within the city limits surrounding the students’ school and student-driven solutions to improve living conditions by writing to public figures of the students’ choosing. It also included resources for teachers to use to perform the parts of the unit of interest to them.
• On April 16, 2026, Mr. KaDarrius James and Dr. Karla Garza attended the College of Liberal Arts and Science career fair mixer to promote teachHOUSTON Alternative Certification Pathway offerings to those who attended the fair.
• On April 17, 2026, the teachHOUSTON program hosted a Teacher Interest Group (TIG) facilitated by Dr. Karla Adelina Garza for their preservice secondary STEM Teachers as part of the University of Houston, Advancing Cultural and Computational Engagement in STEM Scholars (UH-ACCESS) NSF grant program. The purpose of the TIG is to offer support and to provide opportunities to help preservice teachers teacher underrepresented student populations and connect to their communities. Mrs. Tina Hovance, a science instructional coach from Katy Independent School District, presented a session on sensemaking in teacher-created lessons. The UH-ACCESS $1.2 million grant program is in year five and is led by Drs. Paige Evans, Donna Stokes, Jaspal Subhlok, and Weihang Zhu.
• On April 22, 2026, Mrs. Ramona Mateer and Dr. Karla Garza from teachHOUSTON attended the Best Hire career fair to promote the teachHOUSTON Alternative Certification Program offerings to those who attended the fair.
• On April 24, 2026, Drs. Paige Evans, Karen Graham, and Karla Garza led the final Community of Practice meeting for this semester as part of the Collaborative Research: Improving Teacher Retention and Effectiveness through Knowledge Sharing (iTREKS): Studying STEM Teachers in High Need Schools across a Community of Practice. The session was focused on the research instrument that will be used to collect data across all partner institutions. ITREKS intends to address the need for recruiting, preparing and retaining highly effective STEM teachers who persist as classroom teachers in high need school districts. This is a five-year, multi-university partnership between other institutions around the nation. The institutions included are Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University, Middle Tennessee State University, University of Colorado- Colorado Springs, Central Washington University, North Dakota State University, University of Nevada- Reno University of Texas at Austin, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley and University of Houston.
• On April 28, 2026, teachHOUSTON hosted a Student Worker Appreciation Luncheon to recognize the student worker team for their hard work this school year. They played trivia, cornhole and games to gain entries for UH prize items.

NSM Career Center Updates

The NSM Career Center delivered targeted programming that supports students at multiple stages of their professional development—from pre-med preparation and internships to alumni career transitions—while also deepening relationships with industry partners to expand employment opportunities.