College Achieve Students Visit Princeton University Astrophysicist

College Achieve Public Schools (CAPS) was founded to ensure every student is prepared to excel in and graduate from one of the top colleges or universities in the nation. In order to reach that goal, CAPS provides not just a rigorous college preparatory curriculum, but opportunities to spend time at those top colleges and universities.

So when Princeton University astrophysicist Lia Medeiros invited CAPS to campus, 20 students from College Achieve Greater Asbury Park and College Achieve Central jumped at the chance. The event, titled “Young Women in STEM,” was intended to help close the significant gender gap in STEM occupations.

Brian Taylor, Princeton Class of 1984, organized the trip. “My intention was to increase students’ curiosity and interest in STEM,” Taylor said. “I hoped this special day of learning would boost these young women’s self-confidence in pursuing careers in the field of science."

CAPS students met with Dr. Medeiros, learned about her research, and explored Princeton’s campus. They also visited the Shelby White and Leon Levy Archives Center at the Institute of Advanced Studies, and the archivist there showed them rare documents and museum pieces that belonged to Albert Einstein and other famous scientists.

“The CAPS students were engaged and attentive, asking insightful and thoughtful questions,” Dr. Medeiros said. “As a Latina woman in Physics, I hope to pay it forward to the next generation. I had a wonderful time getting to know these young women and hope they enjoyed their visit.”

In addition to the opportunity to spend time at a remarkable university, the visit supported CAPS’ goal to provide access to STEM opportunities and help to remedy unequal representation in STEM careers. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, STEM occupations currently make up more than one out of every 10 jobs and earn salaries nearly twice the U.S. average. But research shows that only 8.9% of the more than 71,000 bachelor’s degrees awarded in computer science in 2017 went to Black students and only 10.1% went to Latino students—far less than that percentage of Black and Latino people in the U.S. (13.4% and 18.5% respectively).

“We are so grateful to Professor Medeiros and Princeton University for giving our students this opportunity—and helping them see how women can thrive in STEM careers,” said CAPS Greater Asbury Park Executive Director Jodi Henderson McInerney. “It was an amazing opportunity to learn from one of the most dynamic researchers in science today.”

Providing access to STEM opportunities is central to CAPS’ approach across their network of schools. The goal is to expose students to STEM from a young age so that they are interested in pursuing it in college—and ultimately have successful careers that can help break the cycle of intergenerational poverty. In fact, at CAPS, by 9th grade students will have received 1,700 hours of science, including computer science and countless lab experiments. This commitment to rigor is paying dividends: this year, every CAPS graduate took at least three AP courses and was accepted to college.

To learn more about CAPS or enroll, click here.