Clay Shields and Mark Maloof receive NSF Funding for Outreach Activities

Clay Shields and Mark Maloof recently received a supplement from the National Science Foundation to fund three outreach activities designed to recruit and support first-generation and underrepresented students in the field of computer science.  The first activity involves funding students who wish to pursue a STEM track in Georgetown’s Summer College Immersion Program, which is a college preparation program for rising high school seniors from the Cristo Rey Network and KIPP Foundation school systems.  The second will add computer science mentoring to the Community Scholars Program’s Fourth Hour Study Group.  It is a project that pairs first-year and sophomore students with successful upper-class Community Scholars, who help with course material, navigating college, and finding internships and jobs.  The third project entails developing an instructional module designed to bridge first-generation students over the summer between their first and second years.  The funding is a supplement to Georgetown’s grant that supports the Cyberfellows Program, which is a scholarship-for-service program that provides two-year scholarships for students to study cybersecurity in exchange for a two-year commitment to work in the public sector on issues related to cybersecurity.