#minersgiveback

Emily Hernandez didn’t wait until college to start recruiting fellow minorities to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. She started as an eighth-grader during a University of Memphis camp called Girls Experiencing Engineering near her Germantown, Tennessee, hometown.

Today, the junior in electrical engineering is still recruiting minorities to engineering through the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers at Missouri S&T. Hernandez, who serves as secretary of the group, says she wants to see more diversity in the engineering field.

Emily Brickler (center), managing director of Leach Theatre, recently worked with Merle Alderson (left) of Merle’s Music to create a raffle drawing for a ukulele signed by renowned ukulele artist Jake Shimibukuro, who performed at the theater. 

"I love the fact that these students are learning, at a very early age, to love and appreciate music," Brickler says. "Many of the students showed up for the concert and were able to meet with Jake before the performance. It was a wonderful, enriching experience for them and they were very excited about getting to meet Jake in person."

The raffle raised $554 for Truman Elementary School’s ukulele club. Music teacher Jane Tummons used the money to purchase several new instruments for student use. 

Missouri S&T’s student ambassadors are more than outstanding representatives for the university. They also take care of one another. Last fall, the group pitched in to help fellow ambassador Steven Julmus, a senior in mechanical engineering, return to his home in Haiti. 

The students held a Krispy Kreme fundraiser with a goal of raising up to $1,500 to cover the cost of a round-trip airplane ticket. 

"In just one week, the student ambassadors were able to sell 330 boxes of doughnuts," says Stephanie Bouse, coordinator of Missouri S&T’s Visit Center. “I was shocked at the outpouring of support from his fellow ambassadors, fellow students on campus, faculty and staff across campus, and everyone else who bought doughnuts or gave a donation.”

When James Zeiger came across the Be the Match bone marrow registry table at the Havener Center during the summer of 2012, he didn’t think twice about registering to become a bone marrow donor. A frequent blood donor, it just seemed natural to sign up alongside the other camp counselors.

“It’s really easy. They just take a cheek swab for tissue type and put you into their system,” says the junior in architectural engineering from Hannibal, Mo. “I just figured that I’d never get called.”

But last fall, to his surprise, he did get a call.

“I answered and they said, ‘Hey, do you still want to be a donor?’ And I said, ‘I just signed up a year and a half ago — of course I do!’”

The registry representative told Zeiger he was a possible match for a 63-year-old woman.

Dr. David Westenberg, professor of biological sciences and chemical and biochemical engineering, was one of many Missouri S&T faculty and staff members who joined 270 students by taking “A Day ON, Not a Day Off” on Monday, Jan. 19. It was a 22 percent increase over last year’s participation.