As a Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Exploration and Engagement Scholar, I am in charge of conducting a Second-Year Capstone Project in any STEM-related field or interest that I have. Since I am double majoring in Biomedical Engineering and Spanish for my undergraduate studies, I decided to base my research project around how my two passions intersect.
The engineering and language fields often do not interact at the collegiate level; in fact, Ohio State requires taking language courses of almost all majors except engineering. They are so distanced, in fact, that I am the first engineering student who has petitioned to overlap more language courses with my general education courses than the standard language minor allotment of credit hours. This in and of itself was a testament to myself about how few and far between it is for engineering students to minor in a language, let alone pursue a double major in language.
This lack of language learning stems from the desire for engineering students to minor or double major in a technical area, in hopes of improving their engineering knowledge and being more desirable to employers. However, as the world becomes a more global society, the desire for a bilingual workforce increases across the country. Especially when nationally, one in five Americans spoke a language other than English in 2017; and that number will only continue to increase.
Therefore, I want to research how language can improve a student in engineering (or other STEM-related field), as research shows the correlation between better performance/grades, more consistent involvement in extracurriculars, and improved overall mental & physical wellness when STEM students are engaged in activities outside of the STEM field.
I plan on interviewing students in the STEM fields across Ohio State’s campus, and determine how students are engaging outside of their STEM coursework. From both an extracurricular and fine arts coursework perspective, I want to know how deviating from the typical exclusively-STEM curriculum/activities that is common of undergraduate majors can improve a student’s performance, employer interest, and overall quality of life.
Sources:
https://advising.engineering.osu.edu/current-students/curriculum
https://cis.org/Report/Almost-Half-Speak-Foreign-Language-Americas-Largest-Cities