GO FORWARD: ATTRACTING NEW GEOSCIENCES MAJORS FROM DIVERSE BACKGROUNDS BY INTEGRATING RESEARCH EXPERIENCES, COMMUNITY BUILDING, AND CAREER READINESS SKILLS AT UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MILWAUKEE

GO FoRWARD (Geosciences Opportunities with Fossils, Rocks, and Water to Attract Under Represented Discoverers) is a program at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (UWM) that was designed to attract and retain underrepresented minority students in the geosciences major and prepare them for the workforce. The highlight is a month-long summer experience for underrepresented students within their first two years of college at UWM and Milwaukee Area Technical College (MATC) who indicate an interest in geosciences, environmental science, and related topics. The summer experience integrates three components: geosciences research, career preparation, and community building. Participants become part of a welcoming community of faculty, staff, student peer and near-peer mentors, and professional geoscientists. The discussions and relationships with professional geoscientists allow students to explore a variety of available career paths. The simultaneous emphasis on research projects grants students the opportunity to build desirable workplace skills and showcase them to the academic and professional community. In three years of the program, thirty-seven students have participated. Since their involvement, twenty percent of participants have declared the geosciences major, an additional twenty percent have indicated a strong interest in declaring geosciences majors in the future (after transferring to UWM or taking additional classes), and an additional twenty percent have declared related degree programs in natural sciences and engineering. The percentage of the department’s undergraduate majors from targeted underrepresented groups has increased by 5%. GO FoRWARD participants have 8% higher retention rates compared to average UWM undergraduates, and those positive divergences are even greater when compared to students from equivalent demographic groups. Participants report that the integrated nature of the program is important to their degree selection and self efficacy in their scientific pursuits. Twenty-one student mentors also gained valuable career experience and bolstered confidence in their scientific skills.