YSU awarded $1.6 million for Choose Ohio First scholarship program

The Ohio Department of Higher Education has awarded $1.6 million to expand Youngstown State University’s Choose Ohio First scholarship program to support 225 students studying science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and medicine.

About $1 million of that award is specifically allotted to the new YSU Student Success in STEMM Careers program, which itself will support an estimated 125 new YSU students over five years.

The new Student Success grant provides scholarships in the range of $3,000 to $3,200 for YSU students in STEMM programs, including advanced, additive, and digital manufacturing; computer engineering/technology; STEMM integrated education; the YSU-BaccMed Consortium; undergraduate nursing; or actuarial science and financial mathematics, said Dr. Stephen Rodabaugh, who leads the Choose Ohio First program at YSU. He said the new program also includes:

• Annual, immersive, month-long Summer Bridge mathematics training for high school students on the YSU campus.
• Intensive recruitment of STEMM-talented students (especially from underrepresented populations).
• Faculty and professionally mentored student research teams that present their research at peer-reviewed conferences, with some publishing in peer-reviewed journals or applying for patents.
• Wrap-around academic oversight and support with private tutors as needed.
• Internships, co-ops, research experience for undergraduates, and other professional work experience pathways to high-demand STEMM careers.

Rodabaugh said YSU-COF has been ODHE grant funded since 2008 and is renowned throughout Ohio “for its tradition of outstanding performance and extraordinary student successes.” YSU-COF is an ODHE-designated STEM Demonstration Program for exhibiting best practices.

“Building on this tradition, the new Student Success in STEMM Careers program moves into the future by mining established relationships with Mahoning Valley high school districts, regional industrial and health care partners, and northeast Ohio academic collaborators to extend current YSU-COF networks for recruitment, enhanced and mentored research experiences, and work-based learning and career opportunities,” he said.

Applications for both the YSU-COF SSSC Summer Bridge and on-campus scholarship programs can be found at the YSU-COF website. For the Summer Bridge, eligibility includes at least a 2.5 HS GPA and successful completion of Algebra II; and eligibility for the on-campus scholarship includes Ohio residency, together with pre-calculus placement, plus additional mathematics placement as needed by an applicant’s intended major. Contacts and further program information may also be found at the YSU-COF website.