While numbers are trending in a positive direction—women, as well as Hispanic, Black, American Indian, and Alaskan Native people are all pursuing advanced degrees in STEM at increasing levels—lack of diversity in STEM remains a longstanding concern.

According to the National Science Foundation, women represented only 35 percent of the workforce in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and math) fields in 2021. Hispanic, Black, American Indian, and Alaskan Native people collectively made up just 24 percent, and were less likely to work in STEM positions that required a bachelor’s degree or higher while earning lower median wages than white or Asian STEM workers.

With an aim of increasing the number of students from underrepresented groups pursuing STEM careers, the New York State Education Department issues grants to institutions through the Collegiate Science and Technology Entry Program (CSTEP). Last winter, Pace University received a grant of $60,000 a year for four years to help fund scholarships for students from underrepresented groups and who are economically disadvantaged, and to provide resources for student-faculty research collaborations, skills workshops, and guest speakers.

“Students learn to think like scientists and engage in activities like scientists [while engaging in] student-faculty research,” said Professor of Mathematics Brian Evans, EdD, who is the project coordinator of Pace’s CSTEP grant. “Students also have opportunities to participate in presentations by faculty, guest speakers, and high school students interested in STEM. Moreover, there is funding for stipends and lab equipment from which students can benefit.”

The program provides the faculty involved the ability to shape the trajectories for students who will go into STEM careers. Giving students the tools they need to succeed is highly rewarding.

Added Associate Professor of Chemistry Elmer Mojica, PhD, director of the grant: “The program provides the faculty involved the ability to shape the trajectories for students who will go into STEM careers. Giving students the tools they need to succeed is highly rewarding. This program is another way of accomplishing the Pace motto Opportunitas.”

Hear from four students whose work with CSTEP has impacted their undergraduate experience and their future aspirations.

Noor Aayla ’23, Behavioral Neuroscience

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Research focus: Electrostatics in Topoisomerase and Ethacridine
Faculty mentor: Daniel Strahs, PhD

What aspect of the program has been most meaningful to you and why?
This program is such an incredible program for uplifting the strengths everyone inherently possesses. It aids in creating a platform for STEM-majored minority people at Pace to be exposed to different opportunities, to be given the same ability to succeed in their work in the sciences. The number of programs, institutions, and collaborations that this program has is so beneficial, especially for a student who is trying to understand and figure out their path in the sciences.

How has this program impacted your academic and/or career aspirations?
One of the many ways this program has aided me is to match me with my current mentor, Daniel Strahs, PhD. If I did not have the opportunity to do research with him, I would never have discovered my interest and passion for biochemical computational mathematics. Thankfully so, with the aid of my mentors at CSTEP, I also got accepted to Weill Cornell Medical College, which I hope to attend next fall!

Sarah Gomez ’23, Behavioral Neuroscience

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Research focus: Correlation between fertility and Alzheimer's using C.elegans
Faculty mentor: Matthew Marcello, PhD

What have you learned about the research process?
Through my involvement in research projects, I have discovered that the research process can be arduous and necessitates the creation of multiple backup plans in case of experiment failures. Additionally, it requires problem-solving skills and a great deal of creativity.

How has this program impacted your academic and/or career aspirations?
As a result of my involvement in CSTEP, I have been able to cultivate my research ideas and attend the Society for the Study of Reproduction Conference in Spokane, Washington, last summer. The program also inspired me to apply to graduate school, and I am excited to share that I will attend UC Berkeley, pursuing a master’s degree in molecular science and software engineering after completing my undergraduate studies.

Goldie Hutchful ’24, Chemistry

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Research focus: Antimicrobial and UV-resistant facial formulations
Faculty mentor: JaimeLee Rizzo, PhD

How have the faculty involved with the program impacted your experience?
The professors involved in CSTEP do their best every week to help us. We have had a workshop on building a better resume for academic or career reasons, and they have invited other great professors to come and talk to us about their research. We have also had doctors come in to speak about their career paths. The professors also listen to our needs and the events we want to have, advise us, and write recommendation letters. They are great mentors.

How has this program impacted your academic and/or career aspirations?
This program has made me get into research work, and I have decided to do my PhD after graduation. I was also encouraged to apply this summer to the REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) program. So far, I have heard back from Stony Brook University and Tufts University. They both offer summer programs in which students receive free housing, a stipend, and the opportunity to conduct research with a professor at the colleges. I have chosen Stony Brook because that is where I intend to go to graduate school and obtain my PhD. It is a win-win situation for me, and this would have never occurred if it wasn't for CSTEP and the fantastic faculty mentoring us.

Brook Thorpe ’25, Behavioral Neuroscience

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Research focus: Mutation on the beta subunit of voltage gated calcium channels in frog eggs
Faculty mentor: Zafir Buraei, PhD

What have you learned about the research process through this program?
Being in this program has allowed me to gain knowledge about the research process and, specifically, how research is not linear. I think I originally went in believing that everything I did needed to be perfect, but by being in this program, I have found that you only learn by failing. The greatest scientists had to fail many times before they succeeded, and my failure is not a representation of my abilities, but rather a showcase of my dedication to continue to find the solution to the questions at hand.

What aspect of the program has been most meaningful to you and why?
The most meaningful part of this program is being able to exist in a space with students of color in a program like science that often lacks that representation in the classroom. Being able to see people who either look like you or have faced the same or similar adversities that you have, succeed in their fields, allows for others to see themselves in that way and continue to push for their goal despite what they might face.

Imagine studying British literature from the heart of London, exploring world-renowned theaters and museums, forming lifelong friendships. That’s what students in Pace University’s First-Year Experience in London program did this past fall, spending their first semester in a truly unique—and memorable—fashion.

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“I’ve dreamed of studying abroad, and specifically in London, since I started high school,” said Ryan Kwon ’26, Film and Screen Studies. “Something about the city–its people and its opportunities–have always enticed me. Since this program is only a semester long, I figured it would be the perfect chance to experience London.”

The First-Year Experience in London (FYE), developed and managed by Pace Education Abroad, provides students in their first semester at Pace the opportunity to begin their college career abroad. With courses designed to satisfy Pace’s core curriculum requirements and with dedicated professors and student support, students in this program have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to study in one of the world’s most prominent academic cities.

“The aim of the program is to bond the cohort to each other and to Pace,” said Senior Associate Dean and Associate Professor of Writing and Cultural Studies Bette Kirschstein, PhD, who served as the on-site academic director for a cohort of 20 students in fall 2022. The FYE program is also designed to help students become global citizens and strengthen their essential “soft skills” that future employers want, such as adaptability, time management, resourcefulness, and teamwork.

Students in the program study at the Kaplan International College. They take two online courses taught by Pace faculty, two courses—including Modern British History—taught by Kaplan faculty, and two taught by the academic director.

Kirschstein taught two English courses, an introductory writing course and Great Britain: Literature, Art, and Culture, both of which she intentionally tailored to their location. “For example, for the ENG 120 ethnography, students did their fieldwork at different local pubs,” she said. “The British culture class also benefitted greatly from being in London, as we visited museums to see the art we were studying.”

Jessica Almonte ’26, a student in the cohort, mentioned the impact of seeing what she was studying in person. “I loved Dr. K’s classes,” she said. “It made us feel really connected to everything around us.” Almonte added that, while she hasn’t chosen a major yet, her time in Kirschstein’s classes and in London has her seriously considering studying English.

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“I noticed I loved being a student in a big city,” Kwon said. “All of my professors were so excited to teach us new and inspiring lessons, even outside the classroom, during trips and group dinners.”

Kirschstein and the cohort embarked on a number of excursions, including a ride on a canal barge, a trip to the London Eye, a boat ride up the Thames to Greenwich, and a day trip to Bath after reading Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey, which was set in that city.

Almonte also noted the benefit of the program’s small cohort, all navigating the experience of being away from home—most for the first time—together. “We all felt like we were in the same boat and had each other to lean on,” she said.

And now, after returning to Pace, the cohort continues to be a support system for one another. In fact, Almonte is now roommates with another member of the program.

“Having made these friends is such an amazing security blanket,” she said of the transition to Pace. “London provided me with a sense of responsibility and independence that I didn’t have before. Now I feel like I’m going to college for the first time, but I always have the people from the cohort to lean on.”

London provided me with a sense of responsibility and independence that I didn’t have before. Now I feel like I’m going to college for the first time, but I always have the people from the cohort to lean on.

The Pace Office of Education Abroad also organizes a number of initiatives to support the First-Year Experience program students’ transition back to Pace in the spring. Students take UNV 101 during their semester abroad to learn more about Pace and discuss reverse cultural adjustment. They also participate in new student orientation upon their return in January and attend an FYE reunion with their cohort-mates. Academically, students meet with a Pace academic advisor to discuss how to incorporate their FYE courses into their intended major.

“The transition to Pace has been going a lot more smoothly than I imagined, especially thanks to the three-day orientation we had to the New York City campus,” said Kwon. “I still run into those I traveled with and it’s always a pleasure to say hi. And meeting even more kind and motivating people is another plus.”

Almonte said she would “100 percent” recommend the program to any student considering it, noting, “I’ve never had a better four months of my life, and it made me so excited to come back here.”

Kwon added: “This chance has taught me that most times, you are more prepared than you may think, and taking the first step is all you need to do.”

Associate Professor of English Sarah Blackwood, PhD, will serve as the on-site academic director for fall 2023. The application deadline for the fall 2023 First-Year Experience in London is April 15. Learn more about the program and how to apply.

A Day in the Life of a First-year Experience Student

Jessica Almonte shares, in her own words, what a typical Day in the Life of a Pace FYE student might look like.

8:00 a.m.: Wake up!

8:30 a.m.–9:30 a.m.: Get ready for day

10:00 a.m.: Get coffee and pastry at The Mess Hall (best café in Southwark, you’ll meet Richard)

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10:15 a.m.: Walk to school through Borough Market

10:30 a.m.: English Literature and Culture with Dr. Kirschstein (all classes start at 10:30)

12:00 p.m.: 2-hour lunch break until next class (lots of food options in Borough Market)

2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.: Critical Writing with Dr. Kirschstein

4:00 p.m.: Walk home

5:00 p.m.: Take tube to get groceries at Tesco, Sainsbury’s, or M&S

6:00 p.m-8:00 p.m.: Homework

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8:00 p.m.: Watch movies with your friends in common kitchen

11:00 p.m.: Go to sleep!

This is what a typical (school) day of my life was like during my semester abroad. It might seem boring on the outside, but I promise you, even the mundane things were so exciting. I made lifelong friendships and experienced things I will never forget. In my first semester of college ever, I went to Scotland (our cohort organized trip), Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Brighton, Bath, and Oxford. There were other people in the cohort who went to Iceland, Spain, and Ireland. That’s not something many other college freshmen can say. There is a far vaster world out there than you would expect. It’s full of beauty and hope and promise and new foods and new music and new friends. People found love and their purpose in life. If you have the opportunity to experience this, I urge you to!

Three Dyson faculty members will participate in prestigious Fulbright-sponsored programs in 2023.

Through the US Fulbright Program, Professor of History Nancy Reagin, PhD, will spend the 2023-2024 academic year in Iaşi, Romania. Reagin’s research through the program will examine gender in fascist movements in a transnational context. Romania’s Iron Guard, which had close connections to Germany’s National Socialists, is among the most important fascist movements in interwar Europe.

In addition to her research, Reagin will teach a history course and a gender studies course, as well as consult on curriculum, at Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, the oldest university in Romania. Reagin was granted Pace University’s President’s Award for Scholarly Leave to pursue her work through the Fulbright program.

Associate Professor of Communication and Media Studies SeongJae Min, PhD, has also received a Fulbright Award for 2023-24 to research and teach in South Korea.

Min’s project, entitled “Practicing Alternative Journalism to Bridge Political Divides,” will involve studying journalism practices intended to reduce political polarization, specifically how citizen-produced and public-oriented journalism can encourage democratic attitudes in Korea.

In addition to conducting research, Min will consult on curriculum at Hanyang University, teach Intro to Journalism and Citizen Journalism courses, and explore collaboration opportunities between Pace and Hanyang.

Associate Professor of Economics Anna Shostya, PhD—who is known for innovative courses at Pace, including an interdisciplinary course that combines photography and economics—will spend three weeks at American University of Moldova this spring, serving as a Fulbright Specialist.

Through her project “Pedagogy, Curriculum Transformation, and Global Challenges,” Shostya will share her expertise in innovative teaching practices to aid in a transformation of the University’s business and economics sciences curricula. With a particular focus on promoting undergraduate research experiences, Shostya will help develop a culture of experiential learning at the University.