Portales, NM – April 10, 2024 – Eastern New Mexico University has been awarded a $60,855 Grant from NASA in collaboration with the Wex Foundation.

The Wex Foundation was awarded some of the 3.2 million dollars sent out to four institutions to enhance the capability of informal education institutions to host NASA-based learning activities while increasing the institutions’ capacity to bring NASA resources to students. ENMU partnered with the WEX Foundation in San Antonio as the higher education partner for their project titled "New Worlds Await You-Next Generation."

ENMU’s partnership with the Wex Foundation, starting this summer as the first year of a four-year NASA-funded grant, which was submitted by ENMU faculty Dr. Johannes Addido, and Dr. Cindy Benge, has ENMU helping with recruiting pre-service teachers, assisting with securing a training site and training of pre-service teachers, recruiting the middle schools that will participate in the after-school STEM program, manage and support pre-service teachers in the program, handle IRB, and assist with data collection.

"We are extremely pleased to partner with the Wex Foundation on this initiative," said Jamie Laurenz, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. "The collaboration will significantly enhance our efforts to train future teachers and engage area students in the STEM fields."

The "New Worlds Await You- Next Generation" project features a national network of in-school and after-school clubs focusing on Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). With the development and implementation of space-STEM curriculum and programming, the NWAY program targets at-risk and underserved middle school students at 6th, 7th, and 8th grade levels.

For more information on the "New Worlds Await You" project, visit https://wexfoundation.org/nway.