Linda Lamp speaking to an intern. Photo by Brody Salazar.
Directing Science
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Brody Salazar
rom 3D printers to summer internships, Chaffey College Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Grant Director Linda Lamp has brought waves of change in her 12 months leading the department. Although she has spent a year leading the department, eight of those months were being spent as an interim director before she applied for the permanent position. As grant director, Lamp used a budget of $3.875 million to establish a “Makerspace,” expand the “living lab” curriculum, incorporate predictive analytics and organize the summer STEM internship. According to Chaffey College Dean of Math and Science Theodore Younglove, Lamp often does not “give herself the credit she deserves” despite being a large part of the program. He goes on to describe her as being “critical” to the process of realizing how to accomplish their goals. “Her contribution is huge,” Younglove states. “She’s making a gigantic difference on the grant, and in math and science. She prefers to work in the background and not say anything, but I think she deserves some credit.” Lamp has been a part of the science department for 13 years, and in that time she has built up many
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@Brody_Salazar connections at Chaffey. Although she did not know it, these connections would later come to serve her when she became the STEM grant director. Lamp cites the bonds she formed as some of the many reasons for her accomplishments in her new position. One such accomplishment includes establishing the Makerspace, which contains 3D printers, robotics, virtual reality and various “kits” to be used for testing different projects. Although the Makerspace provides many services for Chaffey students, it was difficult to find an area that was capable of supporting it. In addition, there was difficulty with staffing the Makerspace, as there would not be enough money in the budget. However, Lamp discovered there was an empty space in Chaffey’s Rancho campus Math Success Center and used the area for the Makerspace. “We had an instruction specialist that was running the Math Success Center,” Lamp explains. “And when we were looking for a space for the Makerspace, he said, ‘Why don’t you put it inside in one of our rooms in there? Because hopefully it will draw students into the Makerspace, and they’ll have to walk through the Math Success Center.’”
