Summer program at St. Louis university gives science students a boost

Some incoming freshmen at Harris-Stowe State University are getting their first taste of college life — and a crash course in math and science.

Kimon Chapman conducts an experiment in a chemistry class at Harris-Stowe’s Academy for Science & Mathematics this summer.

– Bob Morrison | Harris-Stowe State University

Every summer, the Academy for Science & Mathematics provides up to 25 students with free room and board and a $1000 stipend.

Program director Tommie Turner said the program aims to give high school graduates the skills they need to succeed in college-level courses, especially young people with an interest in Science, Technology, Mathematics and Engineering, or STEM.

“Students take their chemistry, their physical science, their mathematics, biology, learn how to take note-taking and study skills, all in a five-week residential program,” Turner said.

The program also gets students out of the classroom and introduces them to working scientists.

“The students are exposed either through field experiences, or various professionals in the city that come and talk to the students during the Academy,” Turner said.

St. Louis Public Radio