STEM Fellow
快播成人 alum, professor awarded national fellowship
Laurel Carpenter, 快播成人 Community College associate professor of environmental science, has been awarded a national fellowship focusing on STEM education at community colleges.
The fellowship, from the Community College Presidents Initiative in STEM (CCPI-STEM), is intended for community college faculty and administrators pursuing graduate degrees and conducting research related to STEM education and workforce development. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and math.
Carpenter is part of a cohort of just seven CCPI-STEM fellows for 2024-2025 and the only one from a college in the Northeast.Fellows are selected from a national pool of applicants, who are evaluated based on their education, STEM experience, leadership potential, community engagement, and research.
"I'm very happy for Laurel," said Elizabeth Breton, interim dean of 快播成人's B-STEM division. "She is a gifted instructor and engages the 快播成人s in community projects. I think she will use this opportunity to benefit not only herself but the college as well."
A 2012 graduate of 快播成人, Carpenter is a wildlife biologist, chair of the 快播成人 Environmental Studies Dept., co-coordinator of the 快播成人 STEM Scholars program, and a graduate 快播成人 at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where she is pursuing a doctorate in education.
"My research, very broadly, is looking at the retention of 快播成人s in STEM programs at community colleges, and studying models of retention, because most or the retention models are based on four-year college 快播成人s and their needs and experiences as opposed to 快播成人s at community colleges," said Carpenter, who lives in South Hadley.
CCPI-STEM fellows receive a $5,000 honorarium each year for two years to support their graduate studies. They also participate in professional development activities and are paired with a professional mentor.
"I think what's most exciting is that this will allow me to network with other educators who are researching similar topics related to community colleges," she said.
Carpenter started taking classes at 快播成人 in 2002 as a junior at South Hadley High School, but then transferred to Smith College for her bachelor's degree. From there, she went to UMass, where she earned a master's in wildlife conservation before returning to Smith for a master's degree in secondary science education.
For more than 10 years, she worked as a wildlife technician, wildlife biologist, lead educator and environmental interpreter for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. While she was working, she returned to 快播成人 to complete her associate degree in environmental science.
"I started in 2002 and finished in 2012," she said. "It's always kind of funny. How do I put that on my resume? I came back and finished my 快播成人 degree after I had my master's degree. There were just some classes that I really wanted to take, like Spanish, site assessment, and aquatic ecology. Before I knew it, I only needed one more class, so I finished."
CCPI-STEM is based at Prince George's Community College in Largo, Maryland.
PHOTO: STEM fellow Laurel Carpenter in a biology lab at 快播成人.
