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For Immediate Release More information: October 27, 2000 Tuseda Graggs (510) 987-9296 "Parent/student conference at UC Santa Barbara" About 400 parents and students from educationally disadvantaged families throughout Central California will learn how to beat the educational odds at a UC Santa Barbara conference on Saturday, November 4, 2000. UC Santa Barbara Chancellor and MESA Board member Dr. Henry T. Yang will be the keynote conference speaker and will address parents and students during lunch. Matt Tirrell, Dean of the university’s College of Engineering will welcome attendees and UC Santa Barbara’s recent Nobel Laureates will offer a message for students. The conference, "Investing in Families Through Education," will be held from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at UC Santa Barbara’s Lotte Lehman Concert Hall. Lunch will be held in the Music Plaza. The event is sponsored by the Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program and will include parents from Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Fresno, Santa Cruz and Bakersfield. About 30 workshops will be offered for parents, for high school, middle school and elementary school level students. Several workshops will be conducted in Spanish for parents who are limited-English speakers. Workshops topics include how to gain admission to the University of California, California State University and private institutions; "College Bound: Parents Sharing Experiences"; "Financing your Education", an introduction to the Internet and a student dialogue with engineers. There were also be hands-on math and science sessions like the Lego robotics demonstration, "Science with Snails," and web page design courses. "Many parents want to support their students to do well academically, but don’t know how. This conference will teach them how," said Phyllis Brady, director of the MESA pre-college program at UC Santa Barbara. MESA Engineering Program (MEP) undergraduate-level students at UC Santa Barbara will serve as workshop presenters and on-site assistants. Additional volunteers from nearby Alan Hancock College will also be on hand to help. MESA, a program of the University of California, supports educationally disadvantaged students so they can successfully attain four-year degrees and enter careers in engineering, science and math. # # #
Tuseda A. Graggs (510) 987-9296
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