MSU welcomes Mississippi high school students for Global Teaching Project’s summer STEM program
Contact: Bethany Shipp
STARKVILLE, Miss.—More than 100 high school students from rural school districts across the Magnolia State are gathering on Mississippi State’s campus this week for the Global Teaching Project’s ninth annual Advanced STEM Summer Preparatory Program.
Representing 18 public schools, the students are receiving immersive instruction and tutoring from top educators and teaching assistants from across the country to prepare them for rigorous Advanced Placement STEM courses they will take through the GTP this fall. The program is hosted through MSU’s College of Education and its Department of Counseling, Higher Education Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations, or CHEF. Mehdi Ghahremani and Sareh Karami, assistant professors in CHEF, are serving their third year as the project’s principal investigators.
“Every summer, our campus comes alive with the energy and potential of these remarkable students,” Karami said. “Watching them tackle advanced STEM content with such passion—and knowing they represent communities often overlooked in these spaces—is both humbling and inspiring. These young minds aren’t just the future; they’re reshaping it.”
In the program, participants are introduced to AP classes in biology, computer science, physics and statistics. They also engage in recreational activities at MSU facilities and attend workshops about college admissions and financial aid. Students attend the camp at no cost, and the program provides on-campus housing and meals.
Among the presenters are Dana AlZoubi, assistant clinical professor in MSU’s Department of Industrial Technology, Instructional Design and Community College Leadership; Lisa Urry, biology professor at Northeastern University and lead author of the most widely used AP Biology textbook in the country; and a Get2College representative. In addition to staff from MSU, tutors and resident counselors from Columbia, Dartmouth, Georgia Tech, Notre Dame, Stanford, Virginia Tech, the University of Mississippi, University of Pennsylvania and Yale provide academic support.
The program is part of the GTP’s Advanced STEM Access Program, which was launched in Mississippi a decade ago. At the time, Mississippi had the lowest participation and performance levels in AP courses in the nation. Since then, the GTP has worked with more than 40 Mississippi public high schools to introduce AP STEM courses to promising students. Today, the Magnolia State is the “national leader in mitigating disparate access to AP STEM courses,” according to the GTP.
MSU’s College of Education, home of the Department of Counseling, Higher Education Leadership, Educational Psychology and Foundations, also includes four additional academic departments, a division of education, one research unit and numerous service units. Learn more at https://www.educ.msstate.edu/.
Mississippi State University is taking care of what matters. Learn more at www.msstate.edu.