Dominion Energy & HACU Return for E-Summer Program at NOVA

The E-Summer Program at NOVA will return this summer to the Alexandria, Manassas and Woodbridge campuses! NOVA is set to host 90 high school students for the comprehensive program, which seeks to engage historically underrepresented students in STEM coursework. Rising high school juniors and seniors will take rigorous college coursework and engage with industry professionals during the third six-week summer session. Students will take CSC-221 (Intro. to Problem Solving & Programming) and SDV-100 (College Success Skills) while also completing enrichment activities. 

E-Summer Program students will attend twice-weekly campus meetings for in-person classes and lunch and learn sessions. These in-person meetings will provide students with authentic experiences as they get to know NOVA’s campuses, resources and faculty. Students will also be able to network with industry representatives who will share real-world insights on job prospects and advancements in their fields.

The E-Summer Program is funded by a grant from Dominion Energy and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities’ (HACU) Building Hispanic Talent Initiative. This summer’s session concludes a multi-year grant that funded efforts by the Dual Enrollment, Outreach and Recruitment Office to support select high school students in their exploration of STEM careers. Previous program participants have reported a lasting interest in STEM-focused career fields, and they are eager to apply what they’ve learned to their future studies and careers. A testament to the program’s success, we’re now seeing younger siblings follow in the footsteps of their older brothers and sisters by becoming NOVA Nighthawks for the summer!

Katie Aimone, program manager, represented NOVA at College Board’s Prepárate 2024 Conference in Austin, Texas, in April. Katie, who served on a HACU-sponsored panel that highlighted four of the program’s seven partner colleges, shared details and takeaways from NOVA’s E-Summer Program. The panel presentation explored how the participating colleges engage high school students to increase diversity and representation in STEM programs.

We are excited to continue this partnership with HACU and Dominion Energy and look forward to welcoming students to NOVA in July!  

Submitted by:
Katie Aimone, NOL-Dual Enrollment Coord., KAimone@nvcc.edu