College of Communication and Information (CCI) Associate Dean Ebe Randeree and Research Specialist Faye Jones presented at the Students and Technology in Academia, Research and Service (STARS) Computing Corps Celebration Conference in Dallas, Texas.
STARS is a National Science Foundation (NSF) funded alliance of more than 50 colleges and universities with a mission to develop college students and faculty as leaders who broaden student participation in computing. The STARS Celebration Conference focuses on the best practices in expanding participation in computing, workshops for K-12 students, and professional development sessions.
Since 2005, FSU has engaged over 200 STARS alumni who have stayed connected and brought their insight and knowledge to current STARS members. “We still connect with them and share information; they share job opportunities and industry trends. We then connect our current students to those alumni so that they can use the network established for them,” Randeree said. “FSU STARS has also been asked to help create and connect the national STARS alumni of 2300 students.”
Randeree presented on two panels, “STARS 101 Workshop” and “Building an Alumni Engagement Ecosystem.” His presentations, focused on building relationships to encourage service leadership, also centered on how to engage potential alumni when they are in K-12.
Jones served on a panel of Latina faculty and Chicanx students in CS focused on predominantly White institutions (PWIs) emerging as Hispanic Serving Institutions (eHSIs), and, ultimately, HSIs. The panel, “Addressing the Context of Hispanic, Latinx, at PWIs, eHSIs, and HSIs,” shared essential factors for future HSIs to serve Latiné communities authentically.
Dr. Jones also presented her research, “Tracking CS Student Success in Education and Career Pathways with a BPC [Broadening Participation in Computing] Perspective.” Her presentation focused on “Backtracking CTE Pathways,” another National Science Foundation-funded project she leads with Marcia A. Mardis, Professor at the FSU School of Information, FSU Senior Vice Provost Rick Burnette, Associate Dean Ebe Randeree, and Tallahassee Community College (TCC) Provost Calandra Stringer. The project ‘backtracks” alumni at Tallahassee Community College using institutional research and in-depth interviews to explore students’ school-to-career pathways as they pursue degrees in computing and technology. The Backtracking team is also determining how experiential learning and other factors help students identify opportunities to strengthen their employability outcomes.