Skyline MESA – Math, Engineering, Science Achievement – had a sweet month!
To celebrate National Pi Day on March 14, 2025, and culminate the week’s Pi-related festivities, MESA students hosted Pie Your Professor.’ Laughter filled Fireside Dining on the Friday afternoon as students ‘pied’ their professors with whipped cream, wrote Pi-Ku poems, and enjoyed some tasty pie afterwards, in celebration of the mathematical constant π and Einstein’s birthday.
The following week, on Friday, March 21, 2025, new and current MESA students gathered in the MESA Center, 7-309, for ‘Meet MESA’ to learn more about the program and connect with MESA peers, faculty, and staff. The event began with lunch and a presentation from MESA student assistants — Aaron Torres Mendoza, Ariana Cerna, Ashley Gutierrez Carreto, and Ein Aung — who shared the impact MESA has had on their academic journeys. From receiving internships, scholarships, and research support to connecting with faculty mentors and building their peer STEM community to traveling around the country to attend and sometimes present at national STEM conferences, the students shared what they have gained from participating in MESA. After the presentations, students participated in a marshmallow challenge, competing to build the tallest and strongest towers using only marshmallows, spaghetti noodles, and a yard of tape. The winners received prizes of interchangeable camera lenses for their smartphones. At the end of the event, students walked next door to the STEM Center, where they chatted with various STEM clubs, including: the Physics and Astronomy Club (PAC), Women in Science and Engineering Represent (WISER), the Engineering and Robotics Club (ERC), the Biomanufacturing Club, the Data Science Club, and the Google Developer Group (GDG on Campus @ Skyline) about current projects the clubs were working on.
MESA is an academic enrichment program that helps educationally underrepresented students excel in math and science and graduate from college with degrees in math-based fields. Founded in 1970, the MESA program serves pre-college, community college, and university students at over 90 sites throughout California. Skyline College’s MESA Program is part of the MESA California Community College Programs (MCCP).
For more information about MESA, please contact Emilie Hein, heine@smccd.edu or Denise Hum, humd@smccd.edu, MESA co-directors, or Stephanie Wells, wellss@smccd.edu, MESA Program Services Coordinator.
Article by Stephanie Wells
Photos by Stephanie Wells and Mei Lee
