By Troy Hamilton; The Whetstone

STEM student Victoir Cahoon said he’s proud to be in Wesley College’s STEM program. He is president of the college’s science club, which inspires him to recruit students to come into the STEM program. 

But he thinks that the STEM program, which stands for Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics, is successful because of the hard work its head coordinator does. 

“I believe that the STEM program is becoming successful all due to the efforts of Melanie Pritchett,” Cahoon said. “Melanie is reaching out to not only deposited students (students coming to Wesley) but to students who were admitted, too. This helps students who don’t know which college to attend by narrowing down their choice to Wesley College, since there is someone reaching out already.” 

Wesley College’s STEM program is growing each year. Its first success occurred during the summer of 2018, when it had seven participants. Last summer, the program had 29 participants, four times from the original count. 

Pritchett said she’s proud of the role she’s played in the program. 

 “I feel very fortunate to be part of such a unique program,” she said. “Once Wesley freshmen and sophomores enter the program, I get to mentor and advise them on a daily basis.  Seeing students change and grow is extremely rewarding.” 

STEM student Steffanie Davis agreed that the program is growing and is successful. 

“We try to find different ways to spread our word for incoming freshmen,” she said. “And we try to find more efficient ways that will help our new and current students. To be a student from STEM helps a lot. The faculty will help to make your future brighter. They hold meetings and special events that will help us.”  

Former STEM student senior Matthew Dina said the STEM program has been successful and has given students good opportunities. 

“There are programs like the Science Club and the Cannon Scholars Program that allow students to outreach, speak with graduate schools, and learn about research opportunities,” he said. “Hearing about students who have graduated from the STEM program here at Wesley, you here nothing but praise for what the program has done for them and how successful they are doing now, so I think that speaks volumes on the success the STEM program has obtained throughout the years.” 

Another STEM student, Anas Mahmoud, said the program is like his family because the teacher helps them learn what they need to know to be successful.  

“I do believe that the STEM program is getting successful as the years go on,” he said. “First, the amount of STEM students enrolled last year compared to the prior year increased significantly. Also, Wesley’s STEM program does a lot of volunteer events at elementary schools and outreach events at high schools to help the community and get Wesley and Wesley STEM out there.”Â