MOORPARK — Moorpark College is pleased to announce that it has received a five-year, $2.9 million Department of Education Title V grant for Project STEM Impacto. This grant, which creates and fosters student cohorts in biology, biotechnology and computer network systems engineering, will benefit Moorpark College students through September 2025.
The grant begins in October and will enhance STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Career Education (CE) programs. Moorpark College is on the cutting edge of CE for new students directly out of high school or professionals looking for advanced skills in a new industry. The CE programs offer a sequence of courses directly related to employment in high-demand, current and/or emerging occupations. Many of the programs in the CE arena at Moorpark College offer certificates that can be completed in as few as 12 months.
“Moorpark College continues to exhibit dedication and meaningful support for their STEM programs,” said Ventura County Community College District Board Chair Bernardo M. Perez.
“This grant will be a great addition to the Career Education initiatives that we are implementing throughout the District.”
“This grant will support Moorpark College in its work to transform the lives of our students and improve our communities,” said Dr. Julius Sokenu, Interim President of Moorpark College. “It will help the college connect with students while they are still in high school, support them while they are at the college and link them to employers and potential jobs. We call it project STEM Impacto because we believe that this will make a major impact in the lives of hundreds of students over the next five years.”
The Project STEM Impacto grant’s key components include STEM outreach to high schools, a summer bridge program, soft skills workshops, intensive counseling, peer mentoring, course-embedded tutors, work-based learning including paid internships and financial literacy workshops.
“The college has a great multidisciplinary faculty team who contributed to the grant planning process,” said Career Education Grant Director Michael Hoffman. “The team represents staff from counseling, financial aid, institutional research and the Career Transfer Center.”
“Congratulations to all of the faculty and staff who helped make this application successful,” said Mary Rees, Interim Vice President of Academic Affairs. “Our students and our region will benefit from their hard work.”
Depending on students’ career goals, they can earn proficiency awards, certificates and transfer degrees designed by Moorpark College faculty through collaboration with industry professionals from local, national and international businesses. Classes are still enrolling for the fall semester.
To learn more information about any of the Career Education programs offered at Moorpark College, visit http://MoorparkCollege.edu/CTE.
About Moorpark College — Moorpark College is one of three colleges in the Ventura County Community College District and annually serves more than 14,000 students. Founded in 1967, Moorpark College is fully accredited and has the highest six-year completion rate within the California Community College System. The Campaign for College Opportunity named Moorpark College a 2019 Champion of Higher Education for the Associate Degree for Transfer Pathway. It is also a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution. The college’s signature career/technical programs include nursing, radiologic technology, biotechnology and journalism. The college’s America’s Teaching Zoo is the only associate’s degree exotic animal training program in the country. To learn more, visit MoorparkCollege.edu or follow @MoorparkCollege on social media.