LESSONS LEARNED FROM A PILOT UNDERGRADUATE ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE ACCESS AND INCLUSION PROGRAM

To increase the accessibility of research training for undergraduate students with identities underrepresented in STEM, we developed an immersive, interdisciplinary environmental science program, entitled AUGR (Authentic Undergraduate Research). The AUGR program design integrates hands-on research, skill building, and professional network development within a supportive cohort setting, led by mentors at several levels of academia. For our pilot program, we recruited five total students from two minority-serving institutions, Jackson State University, and the University of Puerto Rico. During the first stage of the program, students engaged in place-based field work in southeastern Puerto Rico, where they collected sediment and water samples, and measured water quality indicators including stream water conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and E. Coli at 18 sites across two adjacent watersheds. From there, we brought students to three North American campuses where they gained mentors and peers as they learned to conduct several types of analyses on their samples to ultimately compare results between the two watersheds sampled. After compiling and analyzing their data, our students presented their findings at the GSA Annual Meeting in 2022, which marked the formal end of the AUGR pilot program.

During this program, students obtained new perspectives, experiences, skills within and beyond their disciplines, and confidence as scientists. The challenges we encountered include time limitations in the design stage, insufficient scaffolding of foundational skills, and decreased engagement during virtual conference preparation. Through this pilot program, we learned that the AUGR model could be improved by limiting virtual work and including a curriculum of short daily lessons in data management and analysis and basic functions in Excel and GIS software. We share the successes and lessons learned from this pilot program to provide insight to others working to develop similar programs, with the ultimate goal of collectively reducing barriers to access and cultivating a more inclusive and diverse STEM community.