The Dwight Look College of Engineering hosted 35 high school counselors at the inaugural High School Counselor’s Retreat and Focus Group on Oct. 9-10.
Dr. Sonia Garcia, senior director of access and inclusion in Engineering Academic and Student Affairs (EASA), organized the retreat to better understand high school counselor’s perspectives of what can be done to increase the enrollment numbers of underrepresented minority students in the engineering program at Texas A&M University. The event was held in the Engineering Innovation Center.
During the retreat, counselors learned about the Look College’s 25 by 25 initiative from Dr. M. Katherine Banks, vice chancellor and dean of engineering, and how the college of engineering is transforming engineering education. The initiative aims to increase enrollment to 25,000 students by the year 2025. As enrollment increases, the expectation is that the percentage of underrepresented minorities will continue to rise.
The counselors also learned about programs, culture and the Look College’s future plans to enable them to better advise their students. They also met with faculty, undergraduate advisors and administrators to development initiatives between high schools and the Look College. Counselors were given information about the access and inclusion programs and initiatives, retention initiatives and outreach programs.
The counselors were also given tours of the engineering departments and listened to current engineering students’ experiences. Counselors participated in a focus group, in coordination with the College of Education and Human Development, to begin a conversation about how the high schools can collaborate with the Look College and how the college can recruit underrepresented students.
Counselors received a better understanding of how the Look College plans to prepare the next generation of engineers and how a partnership between high schools and the college of engineering is critical.
Due to the success of the retreat, Garcia plans to continue having the retreat on an annual basis with the goal of significantly expanding in size.
The retreat was also intended to build partnerships between the college of engineering and high schools throughout Texas. Counselors who attended the retreat represented 24 of the Engineering Aggies Gaining Experience (EngAGE) partner schools that already have a relationship with the college of engineering. The EngAGE program replaced the previous E 12 program in order to expand beyond 12 schools. These schools were selected to participate in the EngAGE program based on demographics, TEA performance ratings, average SAT scores and the number of students attending Texas A&M. The Look College provides these high schools with information about opportunities in the engineering disciplines and encourages students to pursue engineering as a career. After the retreat, five additional schools joined the EngAGE program. These schools are Porter High School, John Jay High School, Sam Houston High School, Bowie High School and Highlands High School.