AWARD YEAR: 2022

UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA-ASHEVILLE

DIRECTOR: CAMILA FILGUEIRAS

PROJECT TITLE: INSECTS EVERYWHERE: CLOSING THE STEM ACHIEVEMENT GAP FOR MIGRANT CHILDREN

The children of migrant workers in western North Carolina face incredible challenges as they seek a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education that will prepare them for career success. Insects Everywhere will assist in closing the STEM achievement gap for Migrant Children in western North Carolina through an annual summer camp program, school-year field trips, and roundtable discussions that engage students in STEM concepts through the lens of insects, expose students to academic and career opportunities in STEM, and prepare students to meet the challenges facing them as they pursue higher education and STEM careers. Insects Everywhere is led by Drs. Filgueiras and Viera, two University of North Carolina Asheville (UNCA)  education professionals who are Latin American, multilingual, have overcome personal obstacles to serve in higher education, and who have decades of experience leading and organizing K-12 educational programs across the US. Insects Everywhere partners closely with Buncombe County Schools' (BCS) K-12 STEM education program and Migrant Education Program, which works closely with migrant students and their families. Through this partnership, Insects Everywhere will be able to reach, recruit, and engage middle and high school students in rural underserved areas of western North Carolina. Insects Everywhere will develop students’ scientific inquiry, critical thinking, and problem-solving skills through individual and team-based, experiential STEM activities, grow students’ enthusiasm for STEM through thoughtful and meaningful experiences in entomology, introduce students to technology, scientific equipment, and instrumentation, and facilitate college and STEM career readiness events in which students and their families are provided with key information to enable student success.

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