July 6, 2010: MIT's Minority science program

>> IT'S A SEARCH FOR THE

BEST AND THE BRIGHTEST.

IN 1975, M.I.T. LAUNCHED

THE MITES PROGRAM,

MINORITY INTRODUCTION TO

ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE.

THEY WANTED TO OFFER

TALENTED HIGH SCHOOL

STUDENTS A SIX-WEEK

RESIDENTIAL PROGRAM.

JOINING ME IS SHAUNI

YOUNG, AND PROFESSOR

CARDINAL WARD, AND ERIC

QUINCARO WHO JUST

GRADUATED FROM M.I.T.

SHAWNA, LET ME START WITH

YOU.

WHAT MAKES THE MITES

PROGRAM DIFFERENT FROM

OTHER SUMMER PROGRAMMING?

>> THAT'S A REALLY GOOD

QUESTION.

I WOULD SAY WHAT MAKES THE

MITES PROGRAM DIFFERENT IS

WHO WE PULL IN TO TEACH

OUR STUDENTS AND TO THE

T.A.S IN OUR PROGRAMS.

WE PULL STUDENTS FROM ALL

OVER THE UNITED STATES.

THE MOST TALENTED STUDENTS

WHO ARE STRIVING TO SCKD

SUCCEED IN SCIENCE AND

ENGINEERING.

THEY WALK IN THE DOOR

TAKING CALCULUS OR CAL 1

OR 2, AND BIOLOGY

CHEMISTRY, AND PHYSICS 1,

2, OR 3, AND HUMANITIES

AND GENOMEICS.

ON TOP OF THAT, WE MAKE

SURE WE BASICALLY USE

M.I.T. AS A MODEL OF HOW

TO BE SUCCESSFUL AT A TOP

SCHOOL, MAJORING IN

SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING.

>> AND PROFESSOR WARDE,

WHAT KINDS OF PROBLEMS DO

YOU SEE WITH PEOPLE'S

PREPARATION COMING IN.

OBVIOUSLY, YOU HAVE A LOT

OF MOTIVATED STUDENTS, BUT

WHAT KIND OF OBSTACLES DO

YOU HAVE TO OVERCOME GOING

THROUGH THE SIX-WEEK

PROGRAM?

>> WE DON'T SEE ANY OF

THESE AS PROBLEMS.

WE UNDERSTAND THAT THE

PREPARATIONS IN HIGH

SCHOOL VARY ACROSS THE

COUNTRY.

SOME STUDENTS COME IN AS

HIGHER LEVELS THAN OTHERS.

THAT'S WHY WE HAVE PHYSICS

1, 2, AND 3.

AND TWO LEVELS OF

CALCULUS.

WE TELL OUR STUDENTS WE'RE

GOING TO JUDGE THEM HOW

MUCH THEY HAVE IMPROVED

COMING INTO THE PROGRAM.

NOT HOW MUCH THEY KNEW

COMING INTO THE PROGRAM.

AND WE MONITOR THEM.

WE CAN SHOW THEY'RE

MONITORED IN DOING THEIR

HOMEWORK, AND MAKE SURE

THEY ATTEND CLASSES.

MAKE SURE THEY ASK

QUESTIONS WHEN THEY'RE IN

TROUBLE.

WE DID EVERYTHING TO

INSPIRE THEM TO GO HIGHER

AND HIGHER.

IF THE STUDENT COMES IN

KNOWING MOST OF THE

MATERIAL, I TELL THE

INSTRUCTORS, GIVE THAT

STUDENT EXTRA HOMEWORK.

GIVE THEM PROBLEMS OUTSIDE

THEIR COMFORT ZONE.

IT IS ABOUT HAVING THE

STUDENTS EXPERIENCE

THEMSELVES AND KNOW WHAT

THEIR STRENGTHS AND

WEAKNESSES ARE.

MOST OF THEM BELIEVE THEY

WALK ON WATER, AND THEN

THEY FIND OUT THERE ARE

PEOPLE WHO ARE SMARTER AND

BRIGHTER THAN ME, AND I'M

GOING TO HAVE TO WORK

HARD, BECAUSE IN HIGH

SCHOOL, I GOT As WITHOUT

WORKING TOO HARD, BUT NOW

THEY HAVE TO STRUGGLE.

>> ERIC, WHEN YOU CAME TO

MITES, IT WAS BETWEEN

11th AND 12th GRADE,

WHERE WERE YOU COMING

FROM?

>> MY PARENTS WORK FOR THE

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE, SO

I WAS ATTENDING HIGH

SCHOOL IN GERMANY AT THE

TIME.

>> WAS IT A CULTURE

SHOCK --

>> ABSOLUTELY.

>> WHAT WAS THE MOST

DIFFICULT IN GETTING USED

TO LIFE AT M.I.T.?

>> I GUESS PART OF THE

SHOCK -- OUTSIDE OF THE

CULTURE STOCK, THE GROUP

OF PEOPLE THAT I WOULD

ASSOCIATE WITH WERE VERY

DIFFERENT THAN WHAT I WAS

USED TO AT MY HIGH SCHOOL.

IT WAS PEOPLE WHO SHARED

MY SORT OF CULTURAL

BACKGROUND, WHICH I WASN'T

USED TO HAVING IN GERMANY.

MOST STUDENTS WEREN'T VERY

LIKE ME.

I WASN'T USED TO STUDENTS

COMING FROM THE SAME PLACE

AND HAVING THE SAME SORT

OF ASPIRATIONS.

IN THAT REGARD, IT WAS

REALLY AMAZING TO HAVE

THAT SUPPORT NETWORK OF

LIKE-MINDED PEOPLE.

AND THEN ONCE I HAD FOUND

THAT GROUP, COMING

TOGETHER THROUGH M.I.T.,

IT WAS A GREAT HELP RATHER

THAN FEELING ISOLATED

AMONGST A SEA OF PEOPLE

WHO DIDN'T KNOW ABOUT

WHERE I CAME FROM AND THE

THINGS THAT DEFINED ME.

>> AND YOU'VE JUST

GRADUATED FROM M.I.T., SO

LET ME JUST ASK YOU A

FOLLOWUP SET, DID YOU FIND

IN TRANSITIONING FROM

MITES FROM M.I.T., THERE

WERE A LOT OF PEOPLE YOU

CAN IDENTIFY WITH, BUT

THERE WASN'T THE

CAMARADERIE OF MITES?

>> MITES HELPED ME FIND A

GROUP OF PEOPLE TO

ASSOCIATE WITH.

BY NO MEANS DID IT LIMIT

IT, BUT IT STRENGTHENED --

FORMED STRONG BONDS WITH

PEOPLE WITH WHOM THAT I

CONTINUED MY TIME AT

M.I.T. WITH.

>> SO, SHAWNA, IF YOU

COULD TELL ME A LITTLE BIT

ABOUT APPLICATIONS, ABOUT

HOW MANY DO YOU GET?

HOW MANY SPOTS DO YOU

HAVE?

>> THAT'S A GOOD QUESTION.

IT'S A REALLY HARD

PROCESS.

THIS YEAR WE RECEIVED OVER

1200 APPLICATIONS FROM ALL

OVER THE UNITED STATES.

AND WE HAVE 71 STUDENTS

WHO WILL BE JOINING US

THIS SUMMER.

AND THAT IS A 6% -- A

LITTLE LESS THAN 6%

ACCEPTANCE RATE.

IT'S A HARD PROCESS, BUT

WE LOOK AT THE ACADEMIC

PREPARATION OF THE

STUDENTS.

WE LOOK AT THE NEED FOR

THE PROGRAM.

WE LOOK AT ALL FACTORS

POSSIBLE, AND WE KNOW

THERE ARE TONS OF STUDENTS

WHO COULD REALLY BENEFIT

FROM THE MITES PROGRAM.

WE'RE, UNFORTUNATELY, NOT

ABLE TO ACCEPT ALL OF

THEM.

LIMITATIONS INCLUDE

SOMEWHAT FUNDING, BU THE

OTHER LIMITATION IS

MAINTAINING THE MITES

EXPERIENCE.

WE HAVE TYPICALLY 60 TO 70

STUDENTS.

IF WE HAD 150 TO 200, IT

WOULD BE DIFFERENT.

SO WHAT WE DO A LOT OF

TIMES IS LOOK AT HOW WE

CAN ALSO COLLABORATE WITH

OTHER PROGRAMS TO MAKE

SURE THERE ARE OTHER

OPPORTUNITIES FOR

STUDENTS.

>> CARDINAL, I HAVE A

QUESTION FOR YOU.

THIS STARTED IN 1975, BUT

EVEN NOW -- IF YOU LOOK AT

THE FACULTY OF M.I.T.,

THERE ARE ONLY 6% THAT ARE

UNDERREPRESENTED

MINORITIES.

DO YOU FEEL LIKE THINGS

ARE GOING IN A BETTER

DIRECTION IN TERMS OF

HAVING NOT JUST THE

STUDENTS, BUT ALSO THE

TEACHERS, YOU KNOW, BE

DIVERSE, OR DO YOU SEE

THAT NOT HAVING CHANGED

THAT MUCH IN YOUR

EXPERIENCE?

>> I'VE BEEN AT M.I.T. A

LONG TIME.

I STARTED IN '74.

AND THESE STUDENTS HAVE

CHANGED A LOT DURING THAT

TIME.

THERE ARE MANY MORE

MINORITY FACULTY NOW THAN

WHEN I STARTED.

THE MITES PROGRAM --

M.I.T. SORT OF USES IT

PARTLY FOR RECRUITING

SERVICES.

A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF

STUDENTS MIGHT APPLY, AND

A LARGE PERCENTAGE OF THEM

GET UPSET.

IF YOU LOOK ON THE M.I.T.

FACULTY, WE HAVE AT LEAST

ONE PROFESSOR I CAN NAME

WHO WAS A MITES STUDENT.

THE PROGRAM HAS HAD A

LARGE IMPACT, NOT JUST IN

TERMS OF PRODUCT, BUT

ENDED UP ON THE FACULTY OF

M.I.T., AND A LOT OF MITES

AL LUME NI HAVE -- ALUMNI

HAVE GONE OFF AND DONE

GREAT THINGS.

WE'RE DOING A STUDY ON

THAT RIGHT NOW.

IT IS NOT THE ONLY

MECHANISM THAT M.I.T. IS

USING TO DIVERSIFY ITS

FACULTY.

IT HAS HAD AN IMPACT

THERE.

>> ERIC, NOW THEY'RE

YOU'RE DONE WITH MITES AND

M.I.T., WHAT ARE YOU GOING

TO BE DOING?

>> RIGHT NOW I'M GOING TO

BE GOING INTO RESEARCH

FULL-TIME IN BASIC SCIENCE

AND PHYSICS.

FOR ONE YEAR AT M.I.T.,

AND THEN I'M GOING TO BE

STARTING A Ph.D. PROGRAM

AT CAL TECH.

>> GREAT.

THANKS ALL VERY MUCH FOR

JOINING US.

THAT'S IT FOR "GREATER

BOSTON." EMILY WILL BE

BACK TOMORROW NIGHT AT

7:00.

I'M KARA MILLER.

GOOD NIGHT.