A director has been hired to lead a new Los Medanos College initiative that is part of a nationally-acclaimed program to increase the number of the nation’s science, engineering and technology professionals.

Carol Hernandez has been selected to oversee the new Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) program at Los Medanos College. MESA provides academic and counseling resources so that community college students may successfully transfer to four-year institutions offering science, technology, engineering and math majors.

MESA currently operates centers at 33 community colleges throughout California.

A community college science instructor, Hernandez has taught classes in biology, anatomy, physiology and cell biology at community colleges in Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Hernandez has earned a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Emory University and a master’s degree in biology from the University of Idaho.

“I love working with students, and being involved with the MESA program is an excellent opportunity to help students succeed and excel in the STEM fields,” Hernandez said.

MESA is a nationally-recognized program that serves more than 17,000 California pre-college, community college and university students who are educationally disadvantaged.

Ninety-eight percent of MESA community college students who transfer to four-year institutions pursue math-based majors. In 2001, more than 14,000 California jobs requiring science or engineering degrees went unfilled, making award-winning programs such as MESA an imperative.

MESA is administered by the University of California. For more information about MESA, visit www.mesa.ucop.edu/home.html. For more information about Los Medanos College’s MESA program, visit www.losmedanos.edu/mesa.