Four BCC students who have participated in the CUNY Research Scholars program led on campus by Director Katherine Acevedo Coppa, were selected to attend and present at the Middle States Commission on Higher Education’s (MSCHE) “Protecting the Future: Champions for Higher Education” conference in Philadelphia last month. Milton Baquedano – along with Fatou Dione and Alexis Ayala – and Abdul Mohammed joined BCC Interim President Dr. Milton Santiago and Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Luis Montenegro to meet and greet with peers from colleges throughout Pennsylvania, New Jersey, upstate New York and beyond; they also had the chance to polish and practice their presentation and networking skills as they shared their science research findings with college presidents, provosts, deans, vice presidents and other administrators.  

The students are among a group of some 15 BCC students working alongside faculty member mentors to conduct at least 400 hours of research on topics of choice in preparation for the annual STEM symposium, which takes place each April.  

“It was a huge honor to have our students represent BCC in presenting posters at the conference,” said BCC’s Academic Affairs Director for Special Projects and BCC Director of CRSP (CUNY Research Scholars Program) Acevedo Coppa. “The conference provided students tremendous networking opportunities with experts in STEM fields while honing their presentation skills. Our faculty could not have been prouder.”

BCC is home to several STEM organizations on campus, including the Scholars program and the National Science Foundation STEM initiative. “We want to make sure our students know about these programs because these initiatives help them develop passions for things they never would have thought of doing,” Acevedo Coppa added.