JOVIETTHE RAMOS, CAMPUS COMPACT AMERICORPS MEMBER SERVING
AT WORCESTER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE, WORCESTER MA
Mission and Vision:
Jovietthe’s responsibilities included activities
pertaining to help build the infrastructure and
capacity at Worcester Polytechnic Institute to
sustainably and effectively support K-12
students, educators, and families in the
Worcester, Ma community and greater Central
MA region with equitable access to high-
quality, integrated, and inclusive STEAM
education opportunities through a STEM
Ecosystem.
Capacity Building and
Sustainability
Built a sustainable STEAM outreach
infrastructure for WPI student volunteers to
work effectively in the Worcester community
with different non-profits on a consistent
basis, and to increase the volunteer base at
WPI shifting towards a virtual modality due
to COVID-19.
Sustainablity Plan: Created procedures list
for virtual STEAM programs, folders of
associated materials (flyer, pre/post surveys,
contact lists for presenters and for
participants, AmeriCorps performance
measure evaluations, etc)
K-12 Success in STEM Education
Anti-Poverty Focus Impact Challenges
WPI shifted to running 100% of programs virtually
because of the COVID-19 pandemic. One of the things
that the VISTA wanted to improve was maintaining
volunteer engagement in the programs in a virtual setting.
Action taken to accomplish this task was to implement
new communication procedures such as virtual training,
4 Organizations that 24 Students with 56 WPI Volunteers 64 Youth Supported zoom meetings, and emails to maintain engagement with
received capacity- improved academic recruited community-based organizations and WPI volunteers.
building services engagement and Outcome: Improved engagement in a virtual setting.
social-emotional skills
COVID-19 Response &
Relationship Building
Created virtual WPI programs, STEAM Together and
STEAM Achievers, for Worcester Public School (WPS)
students through community-based organizations
(CBOs) to supplement/enrich their learning. These live,
virtual programs provided fun, hands-on design
challenges or exposure to STEM fields and careers for
youth.
Formed partnerships with community-based
organizations (CBOs) such as the Latino Education
Institute, and the YMCA of Central Mass; in order to
reach Worcester Public School students
Recommendations
Know as much as you can about the institution and the
community you will be serving
Find out the needs of the CBOs and create programs
that can help fulfill those needs