As a University of Houston Arab-American STEM student, would you like to serve as a role model in your community?

A new program – the Incubator of Racial Equity in STEM Education (IRESE) – at the University of Houston provides University of Houston Arab-American undergraduate students pursuing STEM majors to volunteer in their communities. IRESE fellows will be expected to mentor and tutor Arab refugee and recent Arab immigrant high school students, thus helping create the next generation of STEM role models.

The semester-long program will run through both spring and fall semesters, with a time commitment of approximately 15 hours per week, including weekends. Participants are eligible for a $1,000 stipend each semester upon successful completion of the program.

The fellows will work as a team with the goal of improving school performance of Arab refugee children in high school, generating STEM interests and promoting self-confidence and awareness as well as improving quality of life, through multiple enrichment activities. The fellows will develop tutoring strategies, enrichment activities and establishing milestones for successful completion of IRESE goals.

Who is eligible for this fellowship?

Each semester, a total of 12 bilingual IRESE fellows (Arabic-English fluent) will be selected from UH undergraduate applicants pursuing STEM majors with a minimum 3.0 science and math GPA. 

To apply for the program, applicants should submit a resume and a statement of interest (500 words maximum) at ssalim@uh.edu. Applications for Spring 2022 are no longer being accepted, and the application acceptance period for Fall 2022 has not been set. 

Questions about the program may be directed to Samina Salim, Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacological and Pharmaceutical Sciences, at ssalim@uh.edu or 713-743-1776.

Support for IRESE is being provided by a UH Office of the Provost Cougar Initiative To Engage (CITE) program grant awarded to study mentor Samina Salim, Ph.D., UH College of Pharmacy associate professor.