LSU Pathways Offers Students Gold Scholarship

February 23, 2023 

BATON ROUGE, LA – Since 2017, the LSU STEM Pathways Certification program has offered high school students in Louisiana public and private schools the opportunity to get hands-on training in pre-engineering courses. In 2020, LSU began recognizing students who completed eight pre-engineering pathway courses by awarding a $1,500 Gold scholarship to one incoming freshman studying engineering at LSU.

Pre-Engineering High School Pathways curriculum developer Vanessa Begat, who is an instructor in the College of Engineering and an associate director of the Gordon A. Cain Center for STEM Literacy, works with high school students in the LSU Pathways program and feels their hard work deserves recognition.

“High school students who apply for the scholarship have taken at least four high-quality pre-engineering classes developed by LSU, as well as four additional courses such as AP or Dual Enrollment math, science, and computer science courses,” Begat said. “The scholarship is a small way to recognize one student for their hard work while in high school, as well as provide an additional incentive for them to come to LSU rather than going out of state.”

In 2020, Brant Dos Ramos from STEM Magnet Academy of Pointe Coupee received the first Gold Scholarship.

“It was a fun and challenging experience that exposed me to all types of engineering disciplines,” Dos Ramos said. “It helped me understand how to handle college courses and helped me to decide which major I chose going into college.”

Dos Ramos, now in his third year of chemical engineering at LSU, plans to start his career by working in a chemical plant or refinery.

In 2022, Haynes Academy graduate Logan Soriano of Metairie, La., received the Gold Scholarship and is now a civil engineering freshman at LSU.

“I am humbled to have received the Gold STEM Scholarship, and it means a lot to me that my hard work in high school has allowed me to continue the same type of mentality in college,” Soriano said. “The LSU Pathways program and the scholarship have given me the ability to relieve some of the stress that comes with paying tuition, books, and school fees.”

When he graduates from LSU, Soriano hopes to work at a civil engineering firm where he can work on projects for the city and state he lives in.

Pre-Engineering Gold Scholarship recipients must have a 3.5 or higher GPA and pursue an engineering major.

Since the program has grown to include pathways in biomedical sciences, computing, and digital design and emergent media, as well as students in elementary and middle school, the Gordon A. Cain Center hopes to gain approval to offer an additional 10 Gold Scholarships that would be awarded to students pursuing any STEM major, not just engineering, as well as an additional 20 Silver scholarships worth $750. Silver scholarships would require that students complete four LSU-developed courses on a specific pathway in order to be eligible to apply.

Students, teachers, parents, and school administrators interested in learning how to get involved with LSU Pathways can visit https://lsupathways.org/getinvolved/ for
more information.

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Contact: Libby Haydel
Communications Manager
225-578-4840
ehaydel1@lsu.edu