transfer assistance; scholarships, and links with student and professional organizations. The MESA Engineering Program (MEP) supports students at four-year institutions so they will successfully attain baccalaureate degrees in engineering or computer science. The MEP emphasizes rigorous academics, leadership preparation, and collaborative problem-solving training so its graduates will meet industry’s technology workforce needs. Similar to the MCCP, the MEP establishes a peer community that provides students, most of whom are first in their family to go to college, with mutual support and encouragement so they will succeed academically. Components of the MEP include Academic Excellence Workshops, orientation classes, tutoring, a study center and computer lab, career advising, exploration of career options in STEM fields, scholarships, internships, and links with student and professional organizations. Awards Awarded by MESA MESA annually awards the Mentor of the Year award. Received MESA has been named among the top five most innovative public programs in the nation by Innovations in American Government, an initiative of the Ford Foundation, the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the Council for Excellence in Government. MESA is also a past winner of the Presidential Award for Excellence in Science, Mathematics, and Engineering Mentoring. The Silicon Valley Education Foundation named MESA its 2013 STEM Innovation awardee in math. MESA was named by Bayer Corporation as one of 21 exemplary programs proven to help K-12 students, especially minorities and girls, to participate and succeed in STEM fields. MESA has served as a model for Hewlett-Packard for its Diversity in Engineering Program, a national grant initiative to academically prepare more underrepresented minority students at community colleges so they could successfully transfer to four-year institutions as engineering and computer science majors. In 2008 MESA was named a finalist by Excelencia in Education as one of the nation's most effective community college programs to increase educational opportunities and improve achievement for Latino students. Notable alumni Victor Glover: is a NASA astronaut of the class of 2013 and Pilot on the first operational flight of the SpaceX Crew Dragon to the International Space Station. Jose Hernandez: is a former NASA astronaut and American engineer. See also Mary Perry Smith, one of the founders of the program References External links Official website Educational organizations based in the United States