GEOSCIENTIST DEVELOPMENT (GEODE): RECRUITING AND ENGAGING THE FUTURE GEOSCIENCE WORKFORCE

2-year and 4-year institutions in Riverside and San Bernardino counties have large populations of underrepresented minority students and rigorous geoscience curricula. Despite this, very few students of color are successfully navigating through a geoscience education and even fewer are entering the geoscience workforce. The GEODE Program at the University of California, Riverside (UCR) works in conjunction with Riverside City College (RCC) and San Bernardino Valley College (SBVC) to recruit new geoscientists and facilitate the success of transfer students into geoscience majors. Additionally, the program works with Riverside Unified School District to expose high school students to geoscience through classroom visits and field experiences.

The GEODE Program works with geoscience professors at local 2-year colleges (2YC) to recruit students interested in the geosciences. We do this through classroom visits that highlight the wide range of geoscience career opportunities and by providing transfer assistance, joint 2YC-UCR fieldtrips, and research opportunities. This past year, 19 students from UCR, RCC, and SBVC went on a joint overnight field trip to the Marble Mountains led by Nigel Hughes (UCR) to learn about local geology and gain hands-on experience searching for trilobite fossils.

2YC students with the intent of pursuing a geoscience career are encouraged to apply for the mentor internship program at UCR. Interns gain the opportunity to work with a professor on a 10-week research project. After successfully completing their internship, students are invited to present their results the meeting of a local professional organization. This past year, three students presented at a meeting of the Inland Geological Society, after which they had the opportunity to connect with professionals about their work. Intern Astrid Garcia was accepted to UCR for Fall 2017 and her mentor invited her to continue working on her project. The other two interns plan on transferring to UCR in the future.