Over 500 middle and high school students eagerly attended Saturday school at San Jose State University for the fourth annual Science Extravaganza. But the Science Extravaganza is not some kind of academic punishment it is an academic encouragement. The Science Extravaganza is intended to be a hands-on one-day event which is put together by the Bay Area Professional Chapter of the Society of Mexican-American Engineers and Scientists (MAES), the Society of Latino Engineers and Scientists (SOLES) at San Jose State University (SJSU) and the kind donations from many technology related companies.
Latino engineers make up around 3% of all engineers and scientists in the United States while the Latino population represents more than 14% of the general populace. Recognizing this disparity in the number of Latino engineers from the overall Latino population, the Science Extravaganza targets students from schools with a high Latino percentage and a low score on the California Academic Performance Index (API). According to some estimates, it is believed that by 2050 the Latino population in the United States will have reached 25%. And if not for this reason alone, it is vital that more Latino students participate in the economic development and defense of this country by entering into a science and technology related field.
The event started out by the warm welcome speech delivered by Monica Joya, the Co-Chairperson for the Science Extravaganza committee. Monica said to the room full of students, "I'd like to talk to you about opportunities and how taking advantage of these opportunities has changed my life." Monica, like many of the students attending, comes from an immigrant family and attended school here in San Jose. Because Monica shares the students' history, she is sharing with them her future. Monica tries to address many of the financial concerns shared by most of the High School students when she says, "There are many resources to help fund your education. For example, I have received more than $40,000 worth of scholarships." As the Science Extravaganza progressed there was a glow in Monica's face. She later shared with me that a student had told her, "You inspired me to stay in school." She said that these words almost brought her to tears. A year of planning and meetings and negotiations and these humble words are the fuel and inspiration for her; and in turn she is the inspiration of her younger siblings.
Dr. Ping Hsu, associate dean of the College of Engineering, told the students, "the choice you make, shows who you are." The Science Extravaganza is a day full of opportunities, so that these students can make the right choices to stay in school, stay out of gangs, and stay off drugs. Dr. Hsu gave more than his words; he gave his time to present a day full of workshops on the attractive forces of magnetism.
Growing up we have all seen the afflictions that hurt our community: the high percentage of high school dropouts, gang violence and drug use. Perhaps with this in mind, Victor Calderon, the Vice President of SOLES encouraged the students to stay off drugs and away from gangs. His words resonated with passion and conviction when he said, "Stay away from gangs, if you want a familia, I'll be your familia. We are your familia."
After the event, the kids had gone home, and the volunteers gathered. Jeff Salinas, Co-Chairperson of the Science Extravaganza committee, said, "I want to thank you all. We have created a future that didn't exist before. We can count how many students attended here today, but you can't measure our success." Over 500 students attended the 2005 Science Extravaganza but will we ever know how many lives where changed by this event? Jeff went on to say, "These kids are going to remember this throughout their careers."
Si se puede can be translated to "Yes, it is possible", but you can't translate the significance of this rallying cry amongst the campesinos of the American Southwest. These words spoken by Cesar Chavez, the founder of the United Farm Workers, have been repeated by thousands of others and have reverberated even through halls of Washington and the financial institutions of New York. The theme of this year's Science Extravaganza is ciencia se puede, "science is possible," in hopes that this event will echo throughout the bright future that these young Latino students posses.
Science Extravaganza (SE) and MAES are registered service marks of the Society of Mexican-American Engineers and Scientists.