Operation STEM adds up to a winner for CSU students

Original article posted on Engaged, CSU's offical blog on tumbler

Math was Marcus Jones’ best subject in high school, but the East Cleveland native found himself struggling with precalculus when he came to Cleveland State University.

This was a problem. If Jones was ever going to fulfill his dream of pursuing a career in automotive design or magnetics, there was no getting around linear equations and trigonometric functions.

Enter Operation STEM (OpSTEM for short). Designed to help students (particularly first-time, full-time freshmen and first-generation college students) pass precalculus and calculus en route to a degree in science, technology, engineering or mathematics, the innovative CSU program is delivering impressive results. 

“It was a great experience for me – and it’s still going,” said Jones (pictured above, standing), a third-year mechanical engineering major who successfully completed OpSTEM and now serves as a peer teacher and mentor for other students in the program.

“It’s a family,” Jones said. “Everyone in Operation STEM holds each other accountable. For me, it definitely made the transition to CSU smoother. I matured a lot, and in terms of my work ethic, I’m not even the same person anymore.”

CSU launched OpSTEM two years ago with a five-year, $875,000 grant from the National Science Foundation. 

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