Project PISCES is designed to provide financial assistance, academic support, and encouragement to individuals from underrepresented populations: women, African-Americans, Hispanics and persons with disabilities. The project has a dual focus as it delivers services to these populations. The first emphasis is on those students who have participated in the articulated Tech Prep programs facilitated by Metropolitan Community College (MCC) in the College's four-county service area in eastern Nebraska. The second emphasis targets former and current students from the Omaha Public School (OPS) District's Banneker Partnership.
MCC's Tech Prep program delivers career opportunities to hundreds of high school students from twenty-eight high schools in the College's service area. This program helps students to identify and explore potential careers of interest.
The Banneker Partnership is an NSF Urban Systemic Initiative Grant with OPS that focuses on preparing high schools for success at the postsecondary level in math and science courses.
Project PISCES is providing scholarships to twenty-five individuals who are enrolled as full-time students at Metropolitan Community College, majoring in computer science or pre- engineering. These students are, upon attainment of their two-year Associate's Degree, either transitioning into the workforce or transferring into a four-year Bachelor's Degree at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. In addition to scholarship support, Project PISCES includes a student support infrastructure that includes a variety of support activities, such as mentoring, tutoring, job shadowing, internships, and cohort support groups.
