STEM-Curious

The School of Science & Math at West Valley College envisions becoming the regional leader in developing curious and creative students of all kinds to become successful 21st century STEM professionals in the Silicon Valley.

We seek your support to help us realize our vision to provide structural supports and scholarships for our most socioeconomically challenged students. Your help will encourage them to invest in themselves and commit to full-time study, accelerating the achievement of their dreams.

Our STEM-Curious program to be launched in Spring 2021 will be a learning community dedicated to encourage economically challenged students to join and stay in the STEM pipeline.

STEM-Curious


Stem-Curious logo
The STEM-Curious student is:
  • Facing significant financial need – Pell Grant qualified
  • Achieving at least a B average in their Science & Math courses
  • Currently enrolled part-time at West Valley College (less than 12 credits) but willing to enroll full-time in the following semester.)
  • A declared or intended major in Computer Science, Engineering, Biology, Chemistry, Physics or Math

Group of students in the lab
The STEM-Curious student receives:
  • Mentorship from West Valley faculty, advanced students/alumni and industry partners
  • Cohort-based career literacy, soft skill training and resume/networking workshops
  • Free tutoring from our Math Resource and Student Success Center
  • Connections to workplace internships and research experiences
  • A scholarship for up to $2000 each semester to keep them on track, contingent on GPA
  • A high-speed laptop computer to facilitate their study

Contribution Options

Mentor working with student
Mentor

We are looking for individuals willing to share their experiences and wisdom, serving as a point of contact, encouragement and coaching for our students. Mentorship can take various forms: one-off presentations, 1:1 mentoring, workplace tours, group mentoring, internship supervision or other opportunities. Fill out this form to let us know how you’d like to offer support.


Two students sharing one laptop
Donate

Your Impact

$50 pays a student to mentor another on a monthly basis for a semester

$100 funds a group field trip to a company’s headquarters to learn about industry opportunities

$250 buys two Raspberry Pi 400 computer kits to teach hands-on coding or a micropipettor for lab

$500 frees a student from a part-time job for a month to dig into their studies


Students in classroom looking at notes
Sponsor

Is your company or organization interested in making a more substantial commitment to developing Silicon Valley’s home grown STEM innovators? Your contribution can compensate our student mentors and support staff, fund field trips, equipment and lab technology and most importantly, financially support our students to pursue their STEM dreams.

We will work with your team to help develop your emerging leaders’ mentoring skills, connect our students to your human resources group, promote your support work to the broader community and offer the use of our new state of the art Kvamme Planetarium for a teambuilding even for your company.


Contact the STEM-Curious Team

Claudio Silva

Claudio Silva

Science and Math
Counselor and Instructor

(408 741-2162
claudio.silva@wvm.edu
SM 4F

Last Updated 9/13/22