Progress 09/01/23 to 08/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:The target audience included 4 freshman and 2 transfer students identified as minorities due to race, gender and income. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?During the academic year of October 2023 and 2024, we met with the MSP Scholars once monthly in an open forum to address their questions and concerns about coursework, university requirements and expectations, and upcoming networking opportunities. See goals 2 and 3 for training and career development opportunities. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?MSP Scholars have been identified to key stakeholders, such as Francois Korn of SeedQuest and Seed Central (seedcentral.org). He has used his network to share some MSP scholars' biographies with industry members who are running events in search of student talent in the upcoming career pool. MSP Scholars have also been connected with key faculty mentors, who were briefed on students' research interests and career plans. Some MSP Scholars also chose to attend the American Seed Trade Association Vegetable and Flower Conference with Francois Korn and PI Van Deynze, who invited them to networking events and identified scholars to industry collaborators. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will continue our recurring cohort meeting and have quarterly check-ins on grant requirements. We will meet with a representative from the Internship and Career Center to discuss internship offerings during scholars' second academic year at UC Davis. We will re-connect with faculty mentors and provide an interview exercise to help facilitate deeper understanding of student goals and identify key areas of growth. Carpooling vans and housing will be provided for the MSP students to attend the Plant Breeding Annual Retreat in December, and faculty and staff will continue to meet once monthly to make sure student success is staying on track.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Our Goals are 1) Recruit diverse high school students into Plant Sciences undergraduate programs in California to foster a resilient workforce in these fields focusing on Chican/LatinX and low income. Four freshman from and two transfer students from California high schools and colleges were recruited in previous reporting period. This goal has been met. 2) Develop mentoring and experiential learning programs for multicultural undergraduate students. The UC Davis Plant Breeding Center, in collaboration with the College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences and Seed Central, offered programs, field trips, mentoring, and remote workshops to MSP Scholars in an effort to build and develop their educational and career development. MSP Scholars completed their Aggie Jumpstart requirements in their first academic year, attending additional one-on-one advising meetings, extracurricular offerings like Career Discovery Groups, and workshops in time management and leadership skill building. Some MSP Scholars have gone on to become Aggie Ambassadors in their second year at UC Davis. In the Spring Quarter, after MSP Scholars had time to adjust to campus life and attend foundational classes, we collected survey feedback regarding their biggest research interests. Using this survey feedback, we facilitated mentor relationships between each MSP Scholar and a faculty member on campus who specializes in their chosen interest. We laid out expectations for mentorship, including in-person and remote meetings once a month, for a period of 2 years. These co-curricular opportunities will encourage building interdisciplinary networks across campus and better help MSP Scholars learn the varied career and education opportunities beyond a first-generation undergraduate experience. 3) Develop leadership and career development programs for multicultural undergraduate students Career development opportunities included invitations to once-monthly networking events offered by Seed Central and the UC Davis Plant Breeding Center. MSP Scholars were also invited to quarterly field trips to local seed companies and online networking events with industry collaborators. Remote workshops covered such topics as regulatory issues in global agriculture, and immigration and work visas. Students were also offered expenses-paid travel and entry to the American Seed Trade Association's Vegetable and Flower Conference, where they could attend conference sessions and networking opportunities to ask questions of industry and academic leaders in research. MSP Scholars were invited to the Plant Breeding Annual Retreat, which is attended by top academic plant breeding researchers across California, from the UC and CSU systems. We also connected MSP Scholars with prominent faculty and researchers on UC Davis Campus, and with local industry leaders across the globe.

Publications

Progress 09/01/22 to 08/31/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Before the undergraduate application deadline closed, we connected with UC Davis recruitment officers, Department of Plant Sciences, Center for Chicanx and Latinx Student Success, and the Aggie Jumpstart program. We provided these key collaborators with recruitment resources for the Multicultural Scholars Program in English and Spanish. They distributed the one-pagers to their network of underrepresented, economically challenged, and first generation high school and community college students. After the application deadline closed, we collaborated with department advisors to reach out to top candidates and requested they submit an application for scholarship funds. We identified six accomplished students (4 undergraduate and 2 transfer) who met the grant criteria, and welcomed them to campus with an orientation and a guaranteed position in the Aggie Jumpstart program. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Students have been enrolled in the Aggie Jumpstart Career Discovery Group (CDG). CDGs are "a partnership between the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences and the Internship and Career Center, to give freshmen and first-year transfer students an opportunity to explore career possibilities and make academic choices for future success. Students who participate in Career Discovery Groups have higher rates of retention at UC Davis. Interaction with faculty and advisors helps them gain focus; guidance from graduate student mentors helps Career Discovery Group students learn to navigate the research university and use campus resources." Three students have elected to join the Student Collaborative Organic Plant Breeding Education project (SCOPE) which is another USDA-NIFA project facilitated through the Plant Breeding Center. The project is a student-led collaborative of faculty and student plant breeders working with local organic growers on improving crop varieties for organic farming systems in California. We have also provided priority acceptance into Seed Central field trips and Plant Breeding Center events, such as the recent Seed Central networking event, an in-person field trip to a local seed company, and the upcoming Plant Breeding Annual Retreat. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?MSP Scholars have been identified to key stakeholders, such as Francois Korn of SeedQuest and Seed Central. He has used his network to share some MSP scholars' biographies with industry members who are running events in search of student talent in the upcoming career pool. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We are setting up a recurring cohort meeting to begin the process of connecting MSP Scholars with graduate student mentors. These mentors will assist MSP students in their pursuit of educational and extracurricular opportunities, help them identify key courses and career paths to consider, and will attend networking events with their mentee. Carpooling vans and housing will be provided for the MSP students to attend the Plant Breeding Annual Retreat in December, and faculty and staff will continue to meet once monthly to make sure student success is staying on track.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During the beginning of Fall 2023 quarter, the students began their career discovery groups and were introduced to several networking and extracurricular opportunities available to them, including Seed Central-a monthly Industry-University networking forum, Seedcentral.org, a company field trip, and the Plant Breeding Center Annual Retreat. Students have begun the process of identifying major study interests, which will be used to connect them with graduate student mentors. Three students have elected to join the Student Collaborative Organic Plant Breeding Education project (SCOPE) which is another USDA-NIFA-OREI project facilitated through the Plant Breeding Center.

Publications