THE RISE
A NEW PATH
Paving the way for students to thrive .
BY MARIO AGUILERA ’ 89
EARLY SUPPORT Kimberley Phillips Boehm ’ 82 chats with members of the new PATHS program , which sets up underserved students for STEM success .
PROFESSOR GENTRY PATRICK has spent a lifetime defying the odds . Going by percentages , an African-American growing up in the Los Angeles neighborhoods of Compton and Watts was unlikely to become a tenured UC San Diego neuroscience professor . But Patrick did just that , and now he is pouring himself and his life experience into a new program to reset the odds for students from the same types of historically under-resourced communities .
“ Students who come from impoverished neighborhoods are often seen through a deficit lens , and this stymies their potential ,” says Patrick . “ We need to use a new playbook that values their community and cultural experiences , engages their capacity and builds upon their strengths so that they can achieve and excel .”
At UC San Diego , that new playbook is known as PATHS , or the PATHways to STEM through Enhanced Access and Mentorship Program . Over a year in development , Patrick and co-creator and program coordinator Leigh Eck intend to increase the number , persistence and retention of underrepresented students in STEM subjects : science , technology , engineering and math . The program centers on the elements that shaped Patrick ’ s own road to success in those fields — a path paved with a vast network of mentors , advisors and supporters .
The PATHS journey began this summer with the 10-week residential Triton Freshman Scholars Program , operated by the Teaching + Learning Commons to jump-start students ’ math and writing skills and expose them to resources like skill-building workshops and laboratory training programs . Over the course of their college careers , PATHS students will also interact with partners from the local STEM industry , philanthropists and community leaders — collaborators and supporters who can step up and make a real difference in students ’ lives .
Among the earliest supporters are two UC San Diego alumni , Marcus Boehm ’ 83 and Kimberley Phillips Boehm ’ 82 , who have donated both their time and monetary support to the program . A versed academic herself , Phillips Boehm can speak to the challenges students are faced with . “ During my time as a professor , dean and provost , I saw increasing numbers of first-generation students with constrained resources ,” she says . “ I saw increased tuition demands on family resources . All of it convinced me that alums and donors really have to step up .”
As a student , Phillips Boehm appreciated the discipline and rigor of her UC San Diego education , combined with the freedom to forge her own career path . Today , she finds it “ thrilling and moving ” to have a hand in the future career successes of disadvantaged students .
“ I made my first gift to UC San Diego eight years ago and I ’ ve learned that students are truly grateful . I also learned that every … dollar ... counts ,” Phillips Boehm says , a stamp of emphasis behind each word . “ I feel like I am part of a community of donors and gifts that have invested in the future — not just at UC San Diego , but the future of higher education and this country . These students are the inventors of new medicine . They are the inventors of ways to end hunger and cure diseases and start nonprofits . I think we all have to think about how we can support our collective future .”
Learn more at tritonmag . com / PATHS
8 TRITON | WINTER 2019