Skyline students Leonardo Calle, Emanuel Gonzalez and Aaron Torres Mendoza were part of the 160 and staff representing California Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) Community College programs throughout the state, at the 28th annual MESA Leadership Retreat that took place March 31 through April 2. The retreat took place near Santa Cruz at the Happy Valley Conference Center, surrounded by redwood trees just after all the stormy weather.
It was a meaningful networking event for students that got to meet peers and potential future colleagues who came from community colleges across California. They spent three days with other students who shared experiences in their personal and educational journeys. They were inspired by keynote speaker Sonia Bustos Barocio’s journey from Los Medanos College to Stanford graduate school. They got to attend workshops on Arduino-based programming, engineering design and renewable energy. Students also had fun meeting new friends around the campfire or stargazing, checking out the Mystery Spot or participating in the STEM-athlon.
The students were excited to share their experience with the Skyline College community, during a Science in Action presentation on April 11. They interviewed all the participants from Skyline College and College of San Mateo and shared their reflections in a video they shared during the presentation.
If you have any questions about the MESA program at Skyline College, please reach out to Emilie Hein (heine@smccd.edu) and Denise Hum (humd@smccd.edu).
Article by Leonardo Calle, Emanuel Gonzalez, Aaron Torres Mendoza, Emilie Hein and Denise Hum
