Latest news with #STEMAcademy
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
STEM Academy celebrates seniors with Signing Day
May 12—With friends, family, fellow students and staff on hand, STEM Academy seniors on Monday celebrated the end of their high school careers with Signing Day. This is the largest senior class in the 11-year history of STEM Academy, high school English teacher Keli Morris said. It also features two sets of twins, Rory and Reese Batte and Mason and Noah Leet. The Battes are going to Tarleton State and the Leets to Texas A&M. Rory is the valedictorian and Reese is the salutatorian of the class. Shannon Davidson, executive director of the STEM Academy, said this was a milestone for the students, the school and the class of 2025. Monday's event in the University of Texas Permian Basin gym is the fifth signing day for the school. "Senior Signing Day is more than just a tradition. It's a celebration of academic achievements and hard work," Davidson said. "This moment wouldn't be possible without the support of the families, our dedicated teachers and especially our amazing academic counselor, Miss (Jennifer) Coleman. "Your commitment to these students' success is what makes events like this so meaningful," Davidson said. When STEM Academy opened 11 years ago, these seniors were 7 years old and in second grade. Some of them have been at STEM the whole time. "In that time, our seniors have taken 20 STAAR exams. They've attended two proms, danced at four winter formals and mastered approximately 55 fire drills. They are pros now. They've competed in two homecoming flag football games, and of course, the seniors won. ... and ... next week, will participate in seven legendary boat races with more sunken cardboard than we could ever count. Fifty-one, that's the total number of seniors In this year's class. All 51 have passed all five STAAR EOCs, and all 51 are considered college ready by the State of Texas," Davidson said. "That's a 100% college ready graduation rate. Every single senior has successfully completed college-level coursework to earn that distinction. That's incredible," she added. Also, 100 percent of the class has applied and been accepted to a college or university. The students will be heading to 16 colleges or universities and all but one is in Texas. Fourteen of the seniors will continue their education at UTPB and five students will go to Odessa College, Davidson said. The students have taken 454 dual credit courses the seniors have completed. Together, they've earned over 1,200 college credit hours, which is averaging about eight courses or 22 credits per student. "Even more impressive, we have 32 of our seniors, which is over 60%, have earned more than 15 dual credit college hours, and 11 of those students have exceeded 60 college credit hours, which is the equivalent of two years' worth of college that they have earned and have also earned an associate's degree, and that's an incredible head start," Davidson said. She added that each senior has left their own mark on the campus. "Together, they've helped shape what the STEM Academy stands for. These numbers help quantify the achievements of our amazing senior class the previous classes set the bar high, but the class of 2025, you definitely rose to the challenge," Davidson said. "To our seniors, today is a moment to reflect on everything you have accomplished. You've worked hard, overcome challenges, and you have proven that you are ready for your future," she added. Eight days are all that remain in the school year. Graduation will be at 7 p.m. May 22 at the Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center. Karey Grametbaur, Project Lead the Way teacher, said the festivities Monday also included a Pathway Celebration. The students that have had three years in their pathway were recognized with items that go with their pathways like a white coat for lab and a hard hat for engineering. The pathways also include teaching. Community partners who provided internships for the students also were recognized. Isaac Rangel, 17, and Kamryn Kershaw and Elise Jones, both 18, are all heading off to college. Rangel and Kershaw are going to Angelo State University and Jones is going to UT San Antonio. Kershaw said she and Rangel have been at STEM since second grade. The concept of graduating is scary and even more so since it's only eight days away, Kershaw said. But at the same time, "... It's really exciting," Kershaw added. Jones said it's kind of nerve racking realizing she's going to be moving away in a couple of months. Commencement felt so far away at the beginning of the year and now it's so close. All three said they were shy when they came to STEM but it has helped them come out of their shells. They all noted that the school's program expanded their knowledge and increased their opportunities. "It's very bittersweet, because, as she said, we've been together since second grade, and this whole class is very tight. We all know each other very well, so moving away from each other and going our most separate ways, is kind of scary," Rangel said.
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
STEM Academy seniors celebrate 100% college readiness
ODESSA, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- STEM Academy seniors celebrated their accomplishments Monday morning with a Senior Signing Day event in which each graduate signed a letter of intent to attend their college of choice in the fall. It was a huge day for these graduates, many of whom have attended STEM for eleven years, since they were second graders. Executive Director Shannon Davidson said all 51 graduates have passed all five of their STAAR End-of-Course exams, and all have been deemed 'college ready' by the state of Texas. Every senior has successfully completed college level course work to earn that distinction. In all, the students have completed 454 dual credit classes, with 1200 college credit hours earned between them. 11 students have already earned an associate's degree by completing more than 60 hours of college credit. 'That's an amazing head start,' Davidson said. Every graduate has applied to and been excepted to a college or university and 19 of those graduates plan to continue their education in the Permian Basin and will attend the University of Texas Permian Basin or Odessa College and will pursue degrees in education, engineering, nursing, computer science, and beyond, something they've been preparing for for years as part of the STEM Academy's learning pathways, which have prepared these students for continued success beyond the Academy's walls. '51 individual journeys, 51 unique voices, and 51 lasting legacies,' Davidson said. 'Each senior has left their own mark on our campus and together they've helped shape what the STEM Academy stands for. These numbers help quantify the achievements of our amazing senior class. You have proved that you are ready for your future.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Literacy professor wins award for service
Apr. 15—When UTPB Assistant Professor of Literacy Shelly Landreth isn't teaching, she's busy giving back to the community. Her work both at the University of Texas Permian Basin and in Odessa have earned her the President's Award for Service. Although she knew she had been nominated, she didn't find out she'd won until the night of the event. They read a little biography and she thought some of it sounded familiar. "It was really exciting and such an honor to be recognized in that way," Landreth said. The literacy program is small, so she teaches a wide variety of literacy courses at the undergraduate and graduate level. Landreth has been at UTPB for six years but was in public education for 23 years, even serving as a librarian. She has a bachelor's degree in English with a minor in reading from Sam Houston State University in Huntsville. Landreth also has a master's degree in library science and a doctorate in literacy, both from Sam Houston. "When I moved into higher ed in 2019 it was a big transition. I was really naive about a lot of that. ... I've kind of learned over time how that works, but it's a different world for sure," Landreth said. Her background is in secondary education. Before moving into higher education, she spent a number of years as a middle school and high school English language arts and reading teacher. In higher education, she has taught a little bit of everything. "I teach children's and young adult literature courses at both the undergraduate and graduate level," Landreth said. She also has worked closely with UTPB's teacher residents in Ector and Midland County ISDs. Some of her community service is connected to her background as a librarian. She is on the Friends of the Ector County Library Board and served as the Texas Library Association District 9 chair for a couple years. That district goes up to Lubbock, down to this area. "In that capacity, we hosted the District 9 fall meeting a couple of years ago," at the Midland County Public Library downtown branch, she said. For the last three years, Landreth has served on the Texas Library Association Topaz Committee, a non-fiction reading list. "I read a lot of non-fiction the last three years as a member of that committee," Landreth said. She's on the Service Learning Advisory Committee at UTPB and they do a lot of service learning projects with students. "Dr. Tara Wilson, my colleague ... kind of heads up the Service Learning Advisory Committee, and she sort of encouraged me to incorporate service learning into my coursework. ... What it does is it connects what they're learning in the classroom to some type of service," Landreth said. This fall, she taught a children's literature course and wanted to connect what she was doing with her students to the STEM Academy. They had a Bluebonnet contest at STEM. Several ECISD campuses had the contest previously, but STEM Academy hadn't participated. Landreth was teaching her students to read aloud effectively and so they read Bluebonnet books aloud to third through fifth grade students there. She was able to go with them and coach them. A native of La Grange, she spent most of her years teaching in rural areas before moving here. When she was a young teacher, Landreth never dreamed she would be teaching at a university. She said her professors had a huge impact on her and somewhere along the line, she began wondering about going into higher education. "My husband actually encouraged me to consider going back for a doctorate, but I really didn't know what for and I wasn't really interested so much in educational leadership, being a principal, superintendent, that kind of thing, because I consider my home the classroom. "That's my favorite place in all of education, is in a classroom with students. ... In exploring, I found a literacy degree at Sam Houston State University. I went back to Sam Houston to work on my doctorate while I was working as a teacher in a district," Landreth said. That's what led her thoughts to going into teacher education. Sometimes she stops and thinks how lucky she is. "You get caught up in all busyness of your day and all the meetings and all these things you have to do, and you can forget. But sometimes I ... stop and just think, wow, I get to work with people who are going to be in classrooms, teachers, future teachers. ... It's an amazing thing. It's very humbling, because I think teaching is one of the most important things a person can do," Landreth said. It's very challenging, as well. She tells her pre-service teachers it's not easy especially in the current climate in schools. "I feel like it's become increasingly more challenging, and that's evident in the number of teachers who leave the field. However, I tell them that if you're really passionate about it and you really want to do it, it's the most rewarding career you can have. Every day you walk into a classroom, you have the potential to impact lives for better or worse ... We need people who are impacting lives for better. ... While it is challenging, and there were times in my career where I thought, What am I doing?" Landreth said. She could do something else and make more money, but she's in year 29 of her teaching career. "And I would not have made a different choice. ... I still have some good years ahead of me, I think, to continue to make an impact," Landreth said. Clark Moreland, UTPB Lecturer of English and director of The Heimmermann Center for Engaged Teaching, said Landreth was the perfect choice for the 2025 UTPB President's Service Award. "She is a key driver for many of our service learning initiatives, leading her students to volunteer at local libraries and schools to help bolster our community's literacy rates. She is also part of our Open Educational Resources leadership team, supporting faculty who are creating more affordable and relevant course materials. She's got that can-do, wildcatter spirit that is representative not only of our faculty but of West Texas as a whole. We're lucky to have her on our team!" Moreland said.
Yahoo
08-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Perry wins Olson Award at UTPB
Apr. 8—University of Texas Permian Basin biology lecturer Irene Perry has been recognized with the Olson Award. The laurel is given to a faculty member exemplifying the highest standards of teaching and service. According to the university website, Perry has been instrumental in mentoring students, coordinating research initiatives, and engaging with the STEM Academy. She is honored to receive an award named for James Olson, a founding faculty member of UTPB. Perry said he was the dean when she was hired full-time for the position she now holds. "I was surprised. I did not expect it when I went to the ceremony," Perry said. Perry works with a group of biology majors — Atlanta Williams, Laura Perez and Sui Tial-Khenglawt — on their undergraduate research. They are studying plants native to West Texas to see if they can protect red blood cells from breaking down. They came across three plants — one was on campus; one was in Perry's back yard and one was from Amazon, Williams said. The bacteria they used was Streptococcus pyogenes, which is most known for strep throat. "... The main thing we went with that is that a lot of people get strep. They can be carriers of strep throat, and when you're a child and you, like, get it back-to-back, usually they send you to ... get your tonsils removed. We think that if we can find a plant that can help with this bacteria, that can keep it from destroying red blood cells, possibly. That can be a new new option for people to take, instead of just going to get surgery, especially at a young age," Williams said. Perry said the idea is if you can find a plant to put in tea, or have in a tincture, that will be "less dramatic" than taking antibiotics, for example. Some people can become antibiotic resistant so they sometimes don't work or stop working. "Just one more tool in the toolbox," Perry said. The project will continue through April, she said. Undergraduate research day is all day April 25 in the library. Along with Williams, Perez and Tial-Khenglawt, will be presenting. Other students will also give presentations, Perry said. Tial-Khenglawt said the thing that's most interesting to her is how native plants can actually make a difference in health care. She added that she always thought that plants were very helpful when it came to medicine, but she didn't know they would find some here. Tial-Khenglawt is in her 11th year of living in West Texas, but has lived in Burma and Malaysia. Williams said she knew growing up that pants could have pharmaceutical properties. "... We live in close proximity with plants and we need plants to survive, so I wasn't surprised that we could find something in it, but just how quick it was and starting the research I didn't expect it" to have an effect, Williams said. Once she saw that it was protecting the red blood cells, she thought they just helped save the world. "That's how it starts," Perry said. Perry said they have presented their findings to the Texas Academy of Science meetings and their work will also be presented in the Undergraduate Research Journal at UTPB, which is online. Tial-Khenglawt and Williams were selected to represent UTPB at Undergraduate Research Day April 10 at the state Capitol, Perry said. She added that the students got money from UTPB to help them with research supplies. Perry said botanical pharmaceutical work is ongoing and many drugs have plant origins. "In general, the number's around 25 percent," she added. "There's a lot of things we don't know and there's a lot of things that we need to find out." Perez said Perry has been super helpful on the botanical project and always given her opportunities to learn beyond the project they are working. Tial-Khenglawt met Perry before she came to UTPB when she attended Falcon Day and got to talk to her. "She was always really nice ... She was also my advisor and she always helped me with everything," Tial-Khenglawt said. She gave Tial-Khenglawt a good recommendation letter and told her about scholarship opportunities. "She's always there to help anyone and is very deserving of the Olson Award," Tial-Khenglawt said. Williams said she has had Perry for a couple of classes. "Her teaching style has never changed. She's always passionate about what she does. She makes you love whatever you're doing and like Laura said you only hear good things about Miss Perry ... She's always bright and optimistic ... If you're having a rough day, you're probably going to leave smiling because she's going to probably tell a joke," Williams said.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
ECISD Decathlon teams capture 3 of the top spots at state competition
Mar. 20—Three of the top 10 Small School academic decathlon teams in Texas are from Ector County ISD. New Tech Odessa, Odessa Collegiate Academy, and the STEM Academy at UTPB all qualified for the Decathlon State Meet contested in Frisco. New Tech Odessa took third place in the rigorous competition, OCA finished in sixth place, and the STEM Academy, in its first year of decathlon, was tenth. NTO's Rohan Reed placed 2nd overall in the Scholastic category, capturing 1st place in the individual contests for Art and Science. Betanya Hailu from OCA earned a perfect score, and first place, on her speech. Maci Jo Baker was the top scorer for STEM Academy. Others who won individual contests were Kevin Enriquez (NTO) in Scholastic Science; Mary Rivera (NTO) Varsity Math and Speech; Yadiel Hernandez-Rodriguez (NTO) Varsity Interview; Elizabeth Lopez (NTO) Varsity Speech; Daniel Oyebanji (OCA) Honors Art; and Mallory Hough (OCA) Honors Art. "We are incredibly proud of all of our Decathlon students and their coaches," ECISD Director of Advanced Academic Services Kristen Vesely said in a news release. "Decathlon is extremely challenging with the diverse range of topics, the amount of study time it involves, and the intensity of the competition. "Yet, those are the same elements that lead to the student's personal growth, great sense of achievement, and confidence gained through their effort," added Vesely. Academic Decathlon is made up of 10 events covering 7 subjects — science, literature, art, music, social science, economics, and math, plus a Super Quiz. All are built around a central theme of study. Competitors take tests, write essays, and deliver speeches as part of the 10 events; the Super Quiz is a true team battle to answer questions in a game-show style format. The students and their coaches spend months studying and preparing for these contests. Each high school enters a team of nine students: 3 Honor students (3.80 — 4.00 GPA), 3 Scholastic students (3.20 — 3.799 GPA), and 3 Varsity students (0.00 — 3.199 GPA). Team Rosters: New Tech Odessa — Yoana Picazo — Head Coach — Neftali Silva — Assistant Coach Honors: — Antonio Apodaca — Adrian Rodriguez — Joel Ramos Scholastic: — Rohan Reed — Kevin Enriquez — Ethan Palomares Varsity: — Mary Rivera — Yadiel Hernandez Rodriguez — Elizabeth Lopez Alternates: — Javier Hernandez — Lorena Spruill — Maria Losoya Odessa Collegiate — Mikal Crowder — Head Coach — Lydia Roundtree — Assistant Coach Honors: — Daniel Oyebanji — Mallory Hough — Betanya Hailu Scholastic: — Madison Garcia — Roxanna Martinez — Zada Cobos Varsity: — Sephira Guitierrez — Josh Selby Alternates: — Rianna Ornelas — Jocelyn Balderas STEM Academy — Iva Hodges — Head Coach — Nicole Olivas — Assistant Coach Honors: — Elise Jones — Maci Jo Baker — Karli Kershaw Scholastic: — Kamryn Kershaw — Miles Mundkowsky — Thomas Harlow Varsity: — Isaac Rangel — Lily Biggerstaff — Haylee Vargas Alternates: — Genesis Cruz — Iris Ramirez — Ilene Kurtz
