1. What does MESA stand for?

“Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement Program.”

2. What is MESA?

“MESA is a state-funded program designed for students with Math, Science, or Engineering majors.”

3. How many students are in the MESA program now?

“The program has about 330 students and daily we get about 160 students.”

4. What exactly is your job and what do you do for MESA?

“I am the adviser and I am in charge of providing resources for the students, such as making sure that there are plenty of scholarships available for students and that they apply for them and that there are enough materials for the students.”

5. How long has MESA been on campus? How long have you worked as the adviser for MESA?

“MESA has been here since 1999, so that’s about 11 years and I’ve been here since 2002, 8 eight years altogether.”

6. What are the requirements for being a part of the MESA program?

“Students need to be Math or Science majors, must be planning to transfer to a 4-year school, have at least a 2.5 GPA, be eligible for Math 80, and take at least one math course every semester.”

7. What are the advantages of being in the MESA program?

“MESA offers many scholarships, internships, tutors, and counselors. It gives students hands on experience and prepares them for the work field.”

8. What kind of scholarships does MESA offer?

“MESA has different kinds of scholarships, which includes the MESA/NSF Scholarship and the Virginia and Thomas Riddle Scholarship for Math and Science. The problem is that students don’t apply for these scholarships, so I have to be on top of that. Also, the better the grades a student has, the better the opportunity for scholarships they have.”

9. MESA helps students with their homework and with understanding their class material. How many different “helping” resources are there at MESA?

“There are tutors on duty, there are regular study groups, and there are Academic Excellence Workshops, which are study groups for specified math and science classes. These groups have the teacher’s syllabus and course outlines and help students understand more in depth the class they are taking.”

10. What are some examples of internships given by MESA?

“Internships are either at a university or a corporation. Universities include Stanford and UCLA and corporations that support MESA internships include Northrop Grumman and Jet Proportion Lab. Northrop also donates money for scholarships, along with Honda and Edison.