Two talented Skyline College MESA students, Aaron Torres Mendoza and Noel Amankrah-Bonsu, connected with industry professionals in San Francisco during an invite-only STEM conference. MESA’s Student Leadership Conference brought together hand-picked engineering and computer science students with industry to develop the next generation of STEM leaders. Held at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, this year’s conference challenged students to design a product or service (in about 30 hours) aimed at addressing one of the United Nations Sustainable Development goals.
The MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) program guides diverse students from underrepresented backgrounds into STEM education and careers.
It is now possible to vote for their teams’ projects (one vote per person only):
- Aaron Torres Mendoza: PLA filament waste https://pr.easypromosapp.com/gallery/996625/50824/659829361
- Noel Amankrah-Bonsu: Sustainability in cities and communities https://pr.easypromosapp.com/gallery/996625/50824/659827292
Students had the unique opportunity to interact one-on-one and in small groups with company executives, engineers, and recruiters. Many often leave the conference with connections that lead to internships and full time employment. Students networked, attended leadership and communications workshops, and a company expo in addition to the team challenge.
“MESA’s Student Leadership Conference provides an incredible opportunity for our community college and university students to gain invaluable career development skills to kick-start their STEM careers,” said MESA Executive Director Thomas Ahn. “Our students represent the skills, passion and potential that California desperately needs to enrich our workforce and strengthen our communities.”
This year’s sponsors include: Carollo Engineering, Keysight Technologies, Edison International, PG&E, Qualcomm, and Uber.
Additionally, professionals from those companies and others volunteered their weekends to present workshops, host career fair tables and advise students with the team challenge.
Diana Gomez, senior project director for HNTB, and Juanita Muniz-Torres, past MESA statewide deputy director, were honored, respectively as the 2024 and 2025 Ray Landis Impact Award winners for being a visionary in diversity and STEM education.
MESA students attended from 46 community college, CSUs, UCs and private universities from across California.
Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) has a 55-year history of changing the face of science, technology and engineering by developing a new generation of STEM leaders. Now with a network of more than 250,000 alumni, MESA fuels diversity by propelling historically underrepresented students toward STEM degrees and professional careers. Our students go on to be astronauts, educators, politicians and more.
Each year MESA serves over 20,000 students at the pre-college, community college and university levels across California. MESA bridges classroom learning with real-world applications, and employ rigorous academics, leadership preparation, a peer community and collaborative problem-solving training to produce highly skilled college graduates who meet 21st century STEM workforce needs.
The White House, the Ford Foundation, and the Silicon Valley Education Foundation have all recognized MESA for its innovative and effective academic development model. Find more information about the conference. For more information about MESA or follow us @MESASTEM.
