Poster Q17 - Perceptions of STEM Professionals Expressed by Applicants to a STEM high school summer research internship

Introduction: The field of Biomedical Engineering is projected to grow 10% from 2021 to 2031 in the United States and encouragement of STEM students early in their career is essential in meeting growing BME workforce needs. Participation in STEM and engineering summer programs expands knowledge of career possibilities and increases persistence in future STEM endeavors by strengthening STEM identity. The PROPEL Careers Program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell is a paid high school summer research internship in Biomedical Engineering and the Biosciences. High school students participate in projects sponsored by Principal Investigators with daily mentorship provided by graduate students and post-doctoral candidates in these labs. Eligible school districts include Massachusetts high schools located in Gateway Cities or in cities with populations of at least 25% classified as low income. Understanding applicants’ perceptions of STEM careers and STEM professionals in these populations can inform future programming decisions in order to best encourage and support program participants.

Materials and

Methods: A survey was administered with the application to the PROPEL High School summer internship. Applicants were asked to answer the question “What qualities come to mind when you think of a STEM professional?” in an open-response format. This data was coded in NVivo looking for common themes. Next, applicants were prompted to select an image that best represents their degree of identification with a STEM professional. Grouping the Applicants based upon completing or not completing the application, quantitative response data was analyzed for statistical significance between the two groups.

Results, Conclusions, and Discussions: In 2024, 29% of applicants are underrepresented minorities (URM) in STEM as per the National Science Foundation (NSF), and an additional 14.5% are from Southeast Asia, a region also underrepresented in STEM fields (See Figure 1). Figure 1 also shows that of those that did not complete the application, 60% were underrepresented minorities in STEM. As a step toward building environments effective in promoting STEM identity and persistence in STEM for interns from underrepresented communities, we undertook to understand applicants’ perceptions of STEM professionals. Early analysis is focused on differences in qualities attributed to STEM professionals by applicants that submitted a complete application and in those that did not. Secondary analysis is focused on perceptions in URM populations and those students who would be the first generation in their families to attend college.

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