Eleven RCCC Students Selected as Noyce Summer Interns

After a rigorous application process, 11 Rowan-Cabarrus Community College students were accepted as the third cohort of Noyce Summer Interns. After these 11 students successfully completed their summer internships, two of them, Emilee Isenhour and Bryan Morris, applied and were accepted as Noyce Sch...

After a rigorous application process, 11 Rowan-Cabarrus Community College students were accepted as the third cohort of Noyce Summer Interns. After these 11 students successfully completed their summer internships, two of them, Emilee Isenhour and Bryan Morris, applied and were accepted as Noyce Scholars enrolled at Catawba College and pursuing teaching degrees in Biology.

Funds from a $1.45 million National Science Foundation grant provide monies to pay the tuition for these RCCC students to take a three credit hour online Education course through Catawba College and to allow each of them a paid summer internship in a STEM occupation.

The students and their summer internship assignments include:

This diverse group of students gathered for an orientation session on May 28th in the Catawba College Center for the Environment. The session was led by their online course instructor Dr. Cyndi Osterhus, a retired associate professor of Teacher Education. This summer online course, EDUC 2000: Introduction to Teaching and Educational Technology began on May 28th and ended June 22nd with presentations given by each intern on the Catawba College campus. Each student also completed 175-200 hours of service during their summer internship.

Students selected for the summer internship experience were excited to learn more about opportunities in STEM occupations including teaching in a STEM classroom.

"I think this is a great opportunity to explore teaching as an option and to use my science degree in the work force," stated Elizabeth George.

Emilee Isenhour, who is now continuing her education at Catawba and aspires to become a high school biology teacher, wants to "share my love of science with my students and inspire them to pursue a career in a STEM field."

Dominique Rollins plans to use this internship as a "major stepping stone to complete my career goals. I'm excited to learn all that I can from it."

Perhaps Catherine Young summed up the experience best by stating, "I don't know where my life will go at this point but I know that every experience I have during this summer will be meaningful. I really appreciate this opportunity to learn new things."