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PROGRAMMING STEM SUCCE SS FOR OUR STUDENTS < < < Scott Foerster, assistant professor of engineering. participate, and if they take the designated courses and perform certification exams and perform computer security jobs. He well, they will be guaranteed articulation, with all of their credits also obtained a government grant to set up a unique lab that can transferring to the participating four-year colleges. be accessed from a virtual environment – allowing more people Another hot new program at HCC is training students for local from different locations to get hands-on experience. businesses and government agencies. "There is so much demand, The cyber lab is only one example of the many ways that new we can't deliver these students to area employers fast enough," technology and teaching techniques are enriching classrooms says Professor Sharon Schmickley, business and computer systems at HCC. "Technology gives our students great benefits – to see division chair. "Computer forensics has gotten very exciting. We are chemistry in 3D, use state-of-the-art software, work on simulations now working with the CyberWATCH Consortium, funded through in class and from home," reports Friedman. "As the skill sets the National Science Foundation (NSF), as one of the lead schools to required for STEM careers have grown more sophisticated, we've develop curriculum, train, and certify students." had to take our instruction to a higher level." The consortium, made up of higher education institutions, Scott Foerster, assistant professor of engineering, recently businesses, and government agencies from across our region, participated in an NSF grant to evaluate introductory engineering focuses on improving cyber security and safety through courses. "Working with three high school teachers to help them education. A report from the Maryland Department of Business create and modify their classes helped me re-evaluate the way I and Economic Development says that "information security is teach," says Foerster. "I have reduced lectures to less than one- now integrated into every computing process in government fourth of the class time and spend the majority of the classes and business," with Maryland at the epicenter of cyber security. working one-on-one with students on projects." In response to the need for professionals trained in this field, After completing his A.A. in engineering at HCC, Alex Dale Schnepf, assistant professor, information technology, Nowodazkij graduated with a B.S. in chemical engineering from designed a series of five courses that prepare students to take the University of Maryland, College Park and is now working for 14 Pathways | Howard Community College Spring 2011