Hancock Cuts Ribbon on new MESA/STEM Academic Success Center
MARCH 8, 2022 -- Allan Hancock College celebrated the grand opening of its new MESA/STEM Academic Success Center with a special ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Representatives from the college’s administration and Board of Trustees gathered outside the newly opened center on March 8 with faculty and students from Hancock’s science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) programs.
“This center provides a space where our MESA/STEM students can receive wrap-around support services and connect with their instructors and fellow students,” said Hancock Board of Trustees President Jeff Hall.
The $1.8 million center, located in building M500 at Hancock’s Santa Maria campus, features multiple workspaces, a collaborative classroom, individual work areas and a “decompression lounge’ where students can unwind and relax. Students can also access important support services at the center, including tutoring, academic counseling, and more.
“We are very fortunate to have such a beautiful facility for our students,” said Hancock Dean of Academic Affairs Sean Abel. “This center is designed optimally to allow our students opportunities for working in their area of interest in collaborative ways.”
Hancock’s Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program provides a wide range of support services and activities aimed at increasing the success and participation of students pursuing degrees in mathematics, engineering, computer science, biology and other STEM-based programs. MESA enables students to prepare for and graduate from a four-year university and seeks to increase the diverse pool of transfer-ready community college students who are prepared to excel in STEM majors.
Hancock’s MESA/STEM program boasts many successful alumni, including Cesia Cazares, who graduated from Hancock and earned a degree at Cal Poly, SLO. Cazares, who currently works as a mechanical engineer for Northrup Gruman, attended the ceremony and toured the center.
"MESA/STEM allowed me to get out of my comfort zone. It made me realize that I had something to bring to the table,” said Cazares. “The same students that I studied with ten years ago are now working all over the world.”
Funding for the construction of the center was provided by the voter-approved Bond Measure I. Additional funding for the center’s new furniture was generously donated by the Bartlett Family Foundation and Henry W. Bull Foundation.
To learn more about Hancock’s MESA/STEM program, visit https://www.hancockcollege.edu/mesa/index.php.
- AHC -
Photo Caption: Allan Hancock College cut the ribbon on its new MESA/STEM Academic Success Center on March 8.
