Cyber Infrastructure: Training and Mentoring: A way to engage students in their technology future

The Cyber Infrastructure: Training and Mentoring (CI:TraM) program is designed to engage with local-area high school students and undergraduates in Las Cruces, New Mexico to teach them technology skills, as well as provide career mentoring. We have seen a variety of results, mostly aligned with the amount of effort and involvement the student demonstrates. As part of the program, students leave behind the "do for me" mindset of high school and early college and enter the "how do I" mindset of successful adults. CI:TraM is an individualized program designed to give students the freedom to explore career options in-depth, as well as expose students to the technology needed in their desired career choice. Students engage with professionals in possible disciplines to decide their career paths and determine how to reach those goals both academically and financially. Students learn core technology skills, such as Excel, and discipline-specific ones, such as Matlab and Auto-CAD. The CI:TraM program has helped engaged students to solidify their career paths and feel more confident both professionally and as persons on college campuses. Although longitudinal data is forthcoming, students have identified their believed benefits of the program and its impact on their lives.