By Brad Stager

Giving Tampa Bay area middle school students a chance to consider what studying science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) could lead to is the idea behind the Bulls Engineering Youth Experience (Bulls-EYE) mentoring program, a five-week introduction to engineering held at the College of Engineering during the summer. 

As many engineers will tell you, realizing how technology could be their way to a fulfilling and rewarding career was an important step in choosing the field.  Getting to such an understanding is sometimes easier when someone shares their personal experiences and according to Dr. Jonathan Gaines, creator and director of Bulls-EYE, forming that kind of connection is an important part of the program. 

“It really is all about relationship building,” says Gaines, who is also an Instructor II in the Department of Mechanical Engineering.  Gaines adds that the methodical application of STEM principles facilitates building relationships between Bulls-EYE participants.

“We use the engineering design process as the foundation for that.”

About three dozen middle school students from communities in a 15-mile radius around the USF Tampa campus and about half-as-many engineering undergraduates team up to work on projects that combine robotics, earth science, environmental engineering and sensor technology to explore the world around them. In the process, they learn skills such as 3D printing and rapid prototyping.  Gaines says projects are developed to be a learning process for the USF mentors as well as their middle school mentees.

“The undergraduates go into the experiments with a little bit of exposure to what they’re about but not as experts by any means. That’s done intentionally because I want to build a relationship that’s based on reciprocity.” Gaines also says that the mentors learn lessons they don’t always have a chance to learn in a classroom, especially when it comes to working with middle school students, such as dealing with conflict as well as time management.

“We spend just as much time focusing on technical skills as we do interpersonal skills and the building of strong relationships.”

One Bulls-EYE participant who says she’s benefited from the program is fourth-year chemical engineering student Kristin Ball, who began as a mentor and has assumed leadership roles as well.

“I can definitely say I have gained effective leadership and management skills and really learned how to self-manage myself and my work and definitely troubleshooting because when things go wrong you have to quickly find a solution, something that works.” 

Ball, who aspires to a career in biomedical engineering and is considering earning her medical degree as well as a PhD, says being able to relate and respond to a wide range of people, from middle school students to adults, representing different communities and cultures is essential.

“Our mission is to serve underrepresented youth in the Tampa Bay community, but in reality we welcome anybody who wants to learn about STEM,” says Ball. “It’s a really great outlet for the children to still learn during the summer, in a safe place where they can be themselves.”
Bulls-EYE mentors earn $10 an hour to work in the program, but according to Ball, get paid-back with more than just money.

“You will get the chance to experience just a glimpse of what it feels like to be on top of the world because of something you did or contributed in showing the next generation that just like us, they can achieve what they want.” Ball also encourages other engineering undergraduates to consider becoming a mentor.

“When you join the Bulls-EYE program, you really do make a difference.”

Bulls-EYE is based on a program Gaines developed at Virginia Tech where he earned his doctorate in mechanical engineering. The program’s inaugural summer at USF was in 2015 when Motorola Solutions Foundation provided a $50,000 Innovation Generation grant to study robotics.  NASA funded the following two years for environmental science-related projects that incorporated robotics and remote sensing. A $450,000 National Science Foundation (NSF) grant will underwrite the next three years of Bulls-EYE.  The increased funding will enable the free-of-charge program to hire more undergraduates to mentor a larger group of potential engineers. 

According to Gaines, Bulls-EYE will increase the number of middle school students participating from 30 to 40 with an increase in mentors to maintain a two-to-one ratio between the two groups, which he says helps foster moments of discovery and support.

“With the smaller ratio they’re able to really spend time with the undergraduate student and ask really targeted questions; they can ask them about their classes, but even more so, ‘What’s your life like?’ I think it really helps the kids get a realistic picture and be able to relate to somebody that is an engineering student and the mentors can make that connection much more effectively than I can.” Gaines also says Bulls-EYE mentors will be more active by participating in public STEM events like the College’s Engineering Expo and visiting Tampa Bay area middle schools. 

The NSF grant is titled “Engineering Youth Experience for Promoting Relationships, Identity Development, and Empowerment,” (EYE PRIDE) and funding is part of the foundation’s Broadening Participation in Engineering Program under the Division of Engineering Education and Centers. According to the NSF award announcement, it will also bring a new research element to the program to “assess the impact of the project’s STEM interventions on engineering identity.”  

The NSF progam is in collaboration with Co-PI’s Dr. Tonisha Lane and Dr. Eugenia Vomvoridi-Ivanovic in the USF College of Education and will also invite pre-service teachers to participate in the program.

“Engineering identity has been looked at recently as one of the primary things that drives someone to pursue a career in engineering,” says Gaines, who adds that the daily routine of the Bulls-EYE program will remain the same.

To learn more about the Bulls-EYE program you can visit online at bullseye.eng.usf.edu, send an email to bullseyementoring@gmail.com or call (813) 974-5578.