Texas high school students to tour A&M engineering, physics school

By: Francesca Marquez

Posted: 4/10/07

On Saturday, sophomores and juniors from high schools in Houston, Austin and San Antonio will be in the Zachry Engineering Center learning about engineering, physics and the admissions process for Texas A&M. These students will be participating in Science Extravaganza (SE), an event hosted by The Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists (MAES), an on-campus engineering organization.

MAES is a national organization with several chapters throughout Texas. Each chapter is responsible for organizing Science Extravaganza in its area. After several years of being absent from A&M, it has finally returned under the coordination of Catalina Suarez, the vice president of outreach.

"I feel extremely proud of our chapter for taking initiative as a whole and getting this done," Suarez said. "Next year's officers will have this year's SE as a foundation for a program that will grow to what it used to be."

According to the MAES national website, the mission of Science Extravaganza is to give professionals and University students an opportunity to get junior high and high school students interested in engineering and science, and to reinforce the benefits of higher education.

Rodolfo DeLeon, this year's president of MAES, said he intends to do just that.

"With Science Extravaganza, my main focus was to reach high school students that may have a negative view toward college or think that they do not have a chance in being admitted," DeLeon said.

DeLeon also said he wanted SE to help enlarge the diversity factor in the technical fields for the future.

"With statistics currently being the way they are for Hispanics and other races, the outlook is not as great as it is in foreign countries," he said. "With SE, we are given the opportunity to help increase those statistics in the United States, even if it is only with a small amount of students."

Suarez said that because the event will coincide with Parent's Weekend, it will allow the high school students to experience the traditions of A&M. She said that with all the activities taking place in College Station, students will believe that the town is a fun place to be.

MAES is not the only on-campus engineering organization that holds recruitment programs. Other engineering organizations, such as the Society of Women Engineers, also hold events for high school students.

However, Suarez and DeLeon both feel that with MAES, hosting the experience will be different.

DeLeon said he intends to stress the importance of the "familia," or family quality of the organization. The family aspect is not only a chapter characteristic, but a national characteristic as well.

"The familia quality of MAES is important because it makes members feel welcomed and comfortable within the organization," he said.

DeLeon said the familia quality allows the students to embrace what is being exposed to them.

Suarez said the members of the organization will introduce what MAES is about and let them know that the organization will be there for them if they have any questions.

Suarez also said she expects students to have a good experience at the event.

"The (students) will leave having visited the best University in the nation, experienced some of its traditions, learned about what they can do in the future and gained some new friends," she said.