CSTEP News letter 2019

I S S U E
00
M O N T H
Y E A R
Collegiate
Science &
Technology
Entry Program
FUSION
This Issue
Global Game Jam P.1
Student research P.2
Student run all-nighter P.3
What’s next? P.4
Global Game Jam 2019
Have you ever wondered how art, computer
science and music - three vastly unique fields
– combine to form an epic final product?
Onondaga Community College’s CSTEP program has
Trends & New Software P.4
From here the Smith brothers will continue giving their
workshops as they help their understudies prepare for
the competition. The competition will take place during
January 25-27.
been successful at facilitating the goals of its bright,
ambitious students. Two brothers, Jaheal and Zaire
Smith, collaborated to orchestrate the first Global Game
Jam at Onondaga Community College. In short, The
Global Game Jam is one of the most significant game
creation events in the world. Participants are given 48
hours to work as a team – utilizing various skill sets such
as music, art, graphic design, and programming – to
create a final product. The Smith brothers had the vision
to give the Onondaga students an accessible
opportunity for students of any background to develop
video games. The purpose of this project was to provide
the students with a means to exercise their scientific and
artistic knowledge in unique ways. They have been
hosting workshops on OCC’s campus where they are
covering the basics in music creation for video games,
art design and programming the games once the in
game environments and characters are modeled.

Student Research:
McNair REU at RIT
Summer research can be
beneficial for students looking
to expand their horizons and
open the doors to selfimprovement
and academic
enrichment.
Various undergraduate summer
research programs have helped our
students experience and explore a
variety of fields including Chemistry,
Biology, Engineering, Neuroscience,
Robotics, and Prosthetics. The
experience gained from the summer
research facilitates the achievement
of each student’s goal. Onondaga
Community College Students,
Rebecca Agosto Matos, and Ivette
Chatman are no exception to the rule.
Agosto Matos and Chatman both
participated in the McNair REU
summer program at the Rochester
Institute of Technology. Ivette
Chatman Spent her summer working
with various Computer-aided Design
(CAD) software to build 3-D printed
models of prosthetics. During her time
in the program, she was able to
explore her interest in prosthetics.
Chatman stated that though she did
not wish to pursue a career in
prosthetics specifically, the
opportunity to do so while in
undergrad allowed her to hone
various skills that are universally
applicable many different fields.
“One of my biggest
struggles before entering
the REU program was
my ability to prioritize.
Once I found myself in
situations where I truly
had to perform; I began
to master that ability.”
With a more extensive array of skills,
an enhanced resume and the new
skills learned throughout her
program, Chatman now has full
confidence in her ability to achieve
her goals of becoming an aerospace
engineer. Agosto Matos worked on
Our students reflect on their
summer research
experience.
In the sixth grade where she
participated in NASA’s “Lego
Mindstorm” robotics program in
Puerto Rico. Rebecca went on to
participate in the VEX Robotics
program. She has mentored “Lego
Mindstorm” robotics programs in the
past and sought to expand her
intellectual horizons.
At the time, Agosto-Matos wished to
pursue a career in Medical
Engineering with a focus in robotics.
During the summer she worked on
designing and working out the
mechanics of prosthetic parts.
She learned to use a CAD software
called “Solid Work” and the printing
software “Cura” while she worked in
an environment that emulated the
rigor of the typical post-graduate
science career. Her experience forced
her to use all the skills she acquired in
college such as her presentational,
mathematical, analytical and
problem-solving skills. Agosto-Matos
plans on attending veterinarian school
robotics projects through the same
program as Chatman. She has a
when she graduates, hoping to one
day be involved in animal prosthetics.
strong background in robotics
starting

Furnace Brook – All night study
It is common practice that, during
finals week, colleges offer a space
where the students may study
throughout the night and be able to
pull “all-nighters.” Onondaga
Community College is not known for
having these types of places on
campus where students may have all
night study sessions. Ivette Chatman
took it upon herself to provide such a
place for her fellow CSTEP/LSAMP
The president of the college approved
her proposal. Students of the
Onondaga Community College
CSTEP program know the value of
comradery, especially during stressful
times – such as finals week.
Therefore, Studying together with a
group of students - who share the
same background, interests, study
habits and motivating factors – is
pertinent in assuring the successful
One of the many goals of the CSTEP
program is to help provide our
students with any opportunities – or
the means to gain the opportunities –
that the institution does not offer itself.
Gateways to research, access to
technology and other study materials
and all-nighter study space are but a
few of the things we provide – and the
list is ever growing.
students during the period before
completion of finals week.
CSTEP
finals week. She proposed the firstever
all-night study session at
hopes that this precedent is continued
down the line of stressful finals week.
Furnace Brook.
Chatman’s Purpose
“We are a dedicated and focused group of CSTEP students and would like
to use the Furnace Brook facility the weekend prior to finals week. The
purpose would be to give students a quiet place to prepare for upcoming
exams free of (internal and external) distractions. This self-imposed
isolation will assist us in preparing for Physics, Chemistry, Biology and
Calculus. Our Director Mr. Harrison is also providing some support from
the CSTEP team to make sure we are comfortable, safe and that dinner is
provided that evening. After holding the CSTEP and LSAMP orientation at
Furnace Brook we saw this as an ideal place to host an overnight Study
Session.”

Upcoming Events
• Lobby Day
• Emerging Researchers National Conference.
• Lake George Convention
•
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Syracuse, NY 13215
315.498.2352 ph
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www.sunyocc.edu/cstep