Shown left to right: Bob West, NECC laboratory technician/safety officer; Martha Leavitt, NECC director of campus operations, administration ,and finance; Stephanie Lee, Verizon regional director of government affairs; Lane Glenn, NECC president; Jean Poth, NECC vice president of Institutional Advancement; and Michael Fiato, LHS head master.

Lawrence, MA–A new after-school mentoring program for Lawrence High School 9th graders is designed to get students excited about science and interested in pursuing careers in these in-demand fields.

The STEM Mentoring program, supported by the Verizon Foundation, will be held in the new science and chemistry labs on Northern Essex Community College’s Lawrence Campus. Forty Lawrence High School students, 20 in the fall semester and 20 in the spring, will be selected for the program, which meets once a week for eight weeks.

Students will participate in science and engineering labs co-taught by a Northern Essex professor, a Lawrence High School teacher, and a community mentor covering topics such as biology, math, chemistry, computer programming, CIS, and robotics.

“The emphasis will be on creating a “wow” factor learning experience since that’s what grabs kids attention at this age,” said Dr. Noemi Custodia-Lora, executive director of the Lawrence Campus and community relations, who will be coordinating this program, along with Martha Leavitt, NECC’s director of campus operations, administration, and finance.

Stephanie Lee, Verizon regional director of government affairs, said “The Verizon Foundation is committed to enriching STEM education for students across the country. Our support of this program with Northern Essex Community College and Lawrence High School will offer students new skills sets to improve their achievement and help prepare them for college and careers in STEM.”

The Verizon Foundation provided $15,000 to support this program. In addition to the Verizon Foundation, Northern Essex, and Lawrence high School, other partners in the program include the Boys and Girls Club of Lawrence and the White Fund.

The Verizon Foundation is focused on accelerating social change by using the company’s innovative technologies to help solve pressing problems in education, healthcare and energy management. For more information about Verizon’s corporate responsibility work, visit www.verizonfoundation.org; or for regular updates, visit the Foundation on Facebook (www.facebook.com/verizonfoundation) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/verizongiving).

With campuses in Haverhill and Lawrence Northern Essex Community College is a state-assisted college, offering over 70 associate degree and certificate programs as well as hundreds of noncredit courses designed for personal enrichment and career growth. More than 7,400 students are enrolled in credit associate degree and certificate programs on the Haverhill and Lawrence campuses; and another 6,700 take noncredit workforce development and community education classes on campus and at businesses and community sites across the Merrimack Valley. Northern Essex is the only state college located in the lower Merrimack Valley Region of Massachusetts. For more information, visit the website at www.necc.mass.edu.