Texas State educator is still championing diversity in STEM

 

POSTED ON May 26, 2021

 

Last May, Texas State University received the Excellence in Innovation Award from the Honor Society of Phi Kappa Phi, the oldest collegiate honor society.

The $100,000 award recognized achievement in program delivery in science and mathematics while helping to increase interest in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers for K-12 students through the Future Aerospace Engineers and Mathematicians Academy (FAMA).

FAMA was launched in 2013 by Dr. Araceli Martinez Ortiz, executive director of the university’s LBJ Institute for STEM Education and Research, and research associate professor of engineering education in the College of Education.

Accepting the award from Phi Kappa Phi in May 2020, Dr. Ortiz said: “I also want to thank the fantastic people at NASA, our external funder, who supported our program from the onset and helped us to inspire our young people to understand that with preparation and awareness, they can succeed in attaining college degrees in science, engineering or mathematics,” she said in a statement. With these degrees, they can participate in NASA’s mission of driving advances in science, technology, aeronautics, and space exploration.”

This March, NASA welcomed Dr. Ortiz as a Minority-Serving Institution Fellow in the Office of STEM Engagement.

The office delivers tools for young Americans and educators to succeed. They create opportunities for students to contribute to NASA’s work in exploration and discovery,  engage students in learning experiences with NASA’s people, content, and facilities, and attract diverse groups of students to STEM through opportunities that spark interest and provide connections to NASA’s mission and work.

“My role will be to advise in strategies and best practices for broadening participation in NASA programming from the Office of STEM engagement,” Ortiz told Texas State. “I’m excited to take up my preparation as an engineering educator and contribute my knowledge,” she added.

Ortiz will serve a two-year term in the fellowship, which will focus on strengthening public understanding by enabling powerful connections to NASA’s mission and work.