Progress 09/15/24 to 09/14/25

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience were the Fall 2024 and Spring 2025 cohorts of National Needs Fellows. During this reporting period, the fellows underwent targeted advisor and peer mentoring and engaged in a weekly peer writing group (Spring 2025). Midway through the semester, the students shared their writing drafts (most worked on initial chapters of their thesis/literature reviews) and used an evaluation rubric to tentatively score the drafts. The students continued to use the feedback to adapt their drafts and anticipate having a more complete version to submit to their respective thesis advisors in Fall 2025. During this reporting period, two fellows also participated in professional training and outreach events. One student from the Spring 2025 cohort was sent to China to present on agricultural research and AI applications. Another from the Fall 2024 cohort participated in a program to grade beef carcasses and train participants at the Ohio State Fair. Four other fellows attended the annual Institute of Food Technologists meeting to present their research findings. Another target audience reached during this reporting period were the graduate students in the department. Fellows worked with the PD to develop a professional training workshop to present to the departmental graduate seminar. The included topics were professional networking, resume/CV development, and LinkedIn usage. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Training activities included one-on-one work (for each fellow) with their thesis advisor/mentor. In addition to this, there were three group training sessions with all fellows and the PD of this grant. Two of the trainings were related to how to engage in group writing sessions and how to use the writing rubric to evaluate their work. The third session was also led by the PD and was to train the fellows about selecting scientific journals and deciding how to select a suitable journal for their future research. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?Professional development training by the fellows was given in the departmental seminar class to other graduate students in Spring 2025. Following the session, which involved sections on professional networking, resume/CV building, and LinkedIn usage, participants (n=12) reported agreed that after the talk, they felt more comfortable and confident in their professional skills (average rating of 4.5 out of 5, with 4=agree and 5= strongly agree). Additionally, participants agreed that the content of the session provided helpful insight that they plan on integrating into future professional interactions (average rating of 4.5 out of 5). What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, we plan to continue to engage fellows in one-on-one mentoring and to engage in the weekly writing group. In addition to this, we plan to have more facilitated mentorship opportunities for the fellows to learn to mentor undergraduate students. As 2 fellows did not participate in the professional development series, we plan to have those 2 fellows develop a professional development workshop to share with the departmental seminar class.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During this reporting period, objectives under Objective 2 were accomplished. Fellows participated in advisor-led and peer mentoring and engaged in a weekly peer writing group. Fellows participated in serving as teaching assistants for undergraduate food science courses and participated in outreach/extension events related to meat carcass grading. One fellow also mentored a visiting high school student from a Thai school (Wells International School) and assisted with a portion of the IB biology research requirements. We plan to continue with mentorship for all fellows and will continue to engage them in different leadership and professional development opportunities that will complement their research and educational training in the MS Food Science Program. Additionally, 4 out of the 6 fellows also developed a professional development series (workshop within one class period of the departmental graduate seminar course). The fellows presented on professional networking, resume/CV development, and LinkedIn usage.

Publications

Progress 09/15/23 to 09/14/24

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience were prospective MS students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds including Native Hawaiian, Native American, and Alaska Native. In the last project report, I mentioned that we were unable to recruit fellows as two offers were made, but were declined (students cited the far distance from home being a challenge). During this reporting year, we recruited again with additional advertisement venues (including the Phi Tau Sigma newsletter, LinkedIn). We received 8 applicants, 5 of which were given offers. Of the 5 offers, only 1 declined (citing distance from home being a factor). Of the 4 students who accepted fellow offers, 3 out of 4 are female, 1 out of 4 identifies as Native American while the other three identify as Asian or mixed race Asian. Additionally, 2 out of 4 students matriculated from less conventional pathways (two starting their studies in a community college before matriculating to a 4-year degree) and 1 out of 4 of the students is a non-conventional student in that she has been working in industry and is returning to school to pursue a MS degree. Our Fall 2024 cohort of fellows is comprised of both local students (2 who completed studies in Hawaii) and students from the continental US. Changes/Problems:As mentioned in the previous year's report, we face challenges with recruiting candidates in the first year. Based on our budgeting predictions, we anticipated that we would need to start all fellows by Fall 2024 in order to still have them graduate with the NNF funding within the lifetime of the grant. As we were only able to recruit 4 out of 6 students by the Fall 2024 target, we have worked with our fiscal office to prioritize using the USDA funds for fellowship support and then to use our college internal funds to support students in the later part of their programs. By doing this, we could potentially recruit the last 2 students in the Spring 2025 semester and still ensure support for their program beyond the grant period. This would allow for more NNF fellows to complete their programs while being fully supported financially. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During this next reporting period, we plan to finish onboarding the 4 new fellows to our program. In addition to having regular mentorship meetings with their advisor (as typical in our regular MS program), the students will also meet with the PD of this grant (Kacie Ho) to discuss additional opportunities for professional development, outreach engagement, and internship experiences. In their second semester, the student cohort will also start to meet for their regular writing group sessions to build peer community and to provide a productive environment for regular/continuous thesis writing. Aside from our proposed plans to meet Objective 2, we also plan to continue working for Objective 1 to recruit two more fellows (hoping to meet our initial goal of 6 new students).

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During this first reporting period, only activities under Objective 1 (Recruit, retain, and graduate 6 new MS students, particularly those from underrepresented groups with outstanding academic records and interest in food science) were conducted. During this period, we have prepared for Objective 2 (Mentor, engage, and empower NNF students in food science research, teaching, and outreach) as our 4 new fellows will start their program in August 2024.

Publications

Progress 09/15/22 to 09/14/23

Outputs
Target Audience:Our target audience were prospective MS students, particularly those from underrepresented backgrounds including Native Hawaiian, Native American, and Alaska Native. We received 5 applications from prospective students, but none self-identified as being indigenous and only one self-identified as being from an underrepresented group (African American). Two offers were made, but both students declined our offers. Changes/Problems:The main change/problem that has challenged us is being unable to recruit suitable candidates. This has inherently caused a significant delay in starting our project efforts. Interestingly, none of the 5 candidates who applied for our fellowship opportunity were from Hawaii and none identified as our target underrepresented groups (indigenous, Native Hawaiian, Native American, or Alaska Native). One out of the 5 candidates identified as being from an underrepresented group (African American). Based on our observations, we will be increasing our recruitment efforts locally at the University of Hawaii and also at Native American serving institutions via the PD and CoPD multistate research group networks. With this plan, we hope to recruit in the Spring 2024 period. If needed, we will request an extension to also recruit fellows to start in Fall 2024. Based on our funding time restraints and our program requirements, if we recruit students by Fall 2024, they can still graduate/finish their NNF funding within the funding time constraints. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided? Nothing Reported How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest? Nothing Reported What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?During the next reporting period, we are continuing with our recruitment efforts. In addition to using our previous channels for recruitment, the PD and Co-PDs are continuing to share the fellowship opportunities with more networks (including our multistate research groups). Additionally, more targeted recruitment will occur via undergraduate food science classes at the University of Hawaii at Manoa and via other campus and Native Hawaiian student groups.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? During this first reporting period, only activities under Objective 1 (Recruit, retain, and graduate 6 new MS students, particularly those from underrepresented groups with outstanding academic records and interest in food science) were conducted. Although we received 5 applications for our fellowship and made 2 offers, at this point we were unable to complete recruitment of fellows. During this first reporting period, the PD and Co-PDs engaged in recruitment efforts to hire 6 National Needs Fellows for the Food Science MS Program at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. The opportunity was sent through multiple channels to the IFT approved Food Science programs. Channels included department head listserv, Phi Tau Sigma Honorary List Serv, and the Phi Tau Sigma newsletter. Additionally, the opportunity was posted on the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) and Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics & Native Americans in Science webpages/opportunity boards. Additionally, the opportunity was also sent out to prospective students via Native Hawaiian Student Services at the University of Hawaii and the Native American and Educational and Cultural Center and Purdue University. Two prospective students reached out for informational interviews and a total of 5 students applied for the fellowship. Two fellowship offers were made, however, both applicants declined. One candidate stated that the reason for declining the offer was because they received an offer at another institution closer to home (which was preferable for their family) and the other candidate did not give a clear reason for declining. Of the offers made, one was made to a student who identified as being from an non-indigenous but underrepresented group, while the other candidate did not identify as being from an underrepresented group.

Publications