Early Identification Program is a way for high schoolers to start to prepare for university. As a freshman in the program, Mariana Marroquin said, “The program is a general prep for first-generation college-bound students and is at different GMU campuses. The various branches are AMP, Stem Fusion, Strengthening the Family, and the heart of the program is Summer Academy.”

Stem Fusion has been gaining traction recently because more and more students are signing up for the program.

“I have only been to one branch, Summer Academy and Academic Mentoring Program. Summer Academy was very fun, I met a lot of cool people, and I did learn a lot. However, it isn’t very inclusive because they have rigorous guidelines on entering and staying in the program. I would say STEM Fusion is one of the best programs besides Summer Academy,” freshman Erick Rivera said.

Starting on October 29th this year, Stem Fusion is very entertaining to all the students in the program. “I’m thankful I joined this program because it has introduced me to unique groups of students and has made me want to pursue a career in stem,” freshman Gabrielle Law said.

Stem Fusion offers many diverse classes like Intro to Engineering, Programming, Nursing, and many more. They also have numerous math and science classes.

The daily life of a Stem Fusion student at Osbourn is irregular to that of a typical student. Stem Fusion students arrive at Osbourn before 8:30 am; they ride the bus to GMU, then attend an hour of math and science; they get back home by 3:00 pm. These students also juggle the regular school work of Osbourn High School classes.

Having only five meetings in a school year, Stem Fusion prepares students for the college lifestyle. As Ms. Weddel said, “If you’re curious about stem careers, even if you don’t know much about much about them, you should join the program to find what you’re passionate about.”

Most students graduating from Stem Fusion never leave dissatisfied. Freshman Ashley Fabian-Flores said, “I’m grateful I joined this program because it has taught me numerous valuable skills and has introduced me to multiple kind-hearted people.” Not only does it help students grow as learners, but it also helps them grow as people.

Though this program is beneficial, it is not as simple as it appears. This college-like program utilizes the professors at George Mason University to teach all the applicants without a college registration. Rivera stated, “It feels like it’s just a better version of high school.”

The applications for Stem Fusion are closed for this year, though they open every year, usually closing around the end of September. Every student at Osbourn will have the opportunity to gain the experience of college-like classes and will be able to discover a whole world of careers that they might want to try in the future.

Want more information on this program? See Ms. Weddel in room 1057.