Source: UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA submitted to NRP
PREPARING HISPANIC AND OTHER UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS IN FISHERIES AND AQUACULTURE
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
ACTIVE
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1031429
Grant No.
2023-77040-41195
Cumulative Award Amt.
$995,620.00
Proposal No.
2023-04481
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Project Start Date
Sep 15, 2023
Project End Date
Sep 14, 2027
Grant Year
2023
Program Code
[NJ]- Hispanic Serving Institutions Education Grants Program
Recipient Organization
UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA
888 N EUCLID AVE
TUCSON,AZ 85719-4824
Performing Department
Environmental Science
Non Technical Summary
We will utilize our network of high schools, especially FFA programs, that have aquaculture / fisheries programs to recruit underrepresented youth to apply to Arizona and New Mexico community colleges with aquaculture programs and/or directly to the fisheries / aquaculture programs at the UA and NMSU. We will provide scholarships at the community college level, the undergraduate and graduate levels. Thourgh our extension contacts with industry and conservation agencies, we will develop and fund internships for our students as well.
Animal Health Component
80%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
20%
Applied
80%
Developmental
0%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
13508101060100%
Knowledge Area
135 - Aquatic and Terrestrial Wildlife;

Subject Of Investigation
0810 - Finfish;

Field Of Science
1060 - Biology (whole systems);
Goals / Objectives
Our major goalis to strengthen capacity for aquaculture and fisheries instruction at 20 high schools, Santa Fe Community College (SFCC), Doña Ana Community College (DACC), New Mexico State University - Alamogordo (NMSU-A), New Mexico State University (NMSU), Mesa Community College (Mesa CC), Yavapai Community College (Yavapai CC), and the University of Arizona (UA). A key strategy is to train 20 high school teachers and their students in aquaculture and fisheries and provide at least 25 scholarships and other support for undergraduate and graduate students focused on fisheries and aquaculture over the 4 years of this grant. Our target audience includes women, Hispanic, Native American and other minoritized students (ranging from high school to MS students) at SFCC, UA and NMSU.Our objectives are to:1. Develop instructional materials and provide summer short courses on entry-level fisheries and aquaculture to build capacity of high schools in New Mexico and Arizona2. Recruit and train underrepresented students to Santa Fe CC, New Mexico State and University of Arizona for AA and BS degree programs related to aquaculture, fisheries, and seafood safety via an integrated undergraduate experience including academic instruction, research opportunities and internships.3. Provide funds for scholarships and personnel budget to build capacity of Santa Fe Community College to provide associate degree level instruction in fisheries and aquaculture.4. Provide scholarships for students enrolled in the programs at NMSU or UA. 5. Create a supportive community among our three institutions that will allow for maximum recruitment, retention, and graduation for the students within this program.?Objective 1. Task 1. Three day training for high school FFA and other interested STEM teachers (10 teachers trained in each of first two years):Task 2. Hosting Career Development Events at UA and NMSU Campus (ONE EACH YEAR):Objective 2. Task 1. Recruiting high school students to pursue academic careers in aquaculture/fisheries: Task 2. Presentations by students within our program:Objective 3. Task 1. Provide scholarships and funds to improve capacity):Task 2. Annual visit to CC's each year):Objective 4. Task 1. Undergraduate Scholarships (4 at NMSU, 3 at UA) (8 at SFCC):Task 2. Graduate Scholarships (5 at NMSU and at 5 UA): Five Master degree scholarships with tuition waivers will be provided by the NMSU for targeted students recruited for the program. Tuition waivers for these students have already been approved in advance by the NMSU administration. UA will also offer five MS scholarships with tuition paid by the grant. These MS students would work under the guidance of UA and NMSU faculty in the fields of fisheries, aquaculture or aquatic food safety.Objective 5. Task 1. Mentoring Programs: Within each institution, we will establish mentoring programs, where each undergraduate student is assigned a graduate student mentor in addition to the PIs (NMSU and UA) or undergraduate students will be assigned another undergraduate as a "mentoring group" (SFCC).Task 2. Community Building across Institutions: We will have bi-weekly Zoom meetings with all students within this program. At each meeting, one of the students will present their research proposal, experimental design, or results for discussion and feedback. Students from community colleges will be encouraged to pursue a 4-year degree and consider transferring to UA or NMSU depending on interest and best fit with a specific laboratory. Students from UA and NMSU will be encouraged to pursue internship or graduate opportunities at the other institution to broaden their experiences and perspectives.
Project Methods
A key strategy is to train 20 high school teachers and their students in aquaculture and fisheries and provide at least 25 scholarships and other support for undergraduate and graduate students focused on fisheries and aquaculture over the 4 years of this grant.To prepare under-represented trainees for employment in each of these sectors, we will provide scholarships and internships for undergraduate and graduate students. The internships and continuing education will give trainees firsthand exposure to skills sets they will need in industry, academia and government agencies, leaving them well positioned for employment and career advancement.We will target the training to those from underrepresented populations (particularly women, Hispanics, Blacks, Native Americans and first generation) by recruiting from high schools and community colleges that have 1) high numbers of minoritized students and 2) aquaculture/fisheries programs as part of their curriculum. Our project features two primary innovations: 1) We will train individuals across the educational spectrum: from the high school level to the professional level. This continuum of educational levels will maximize the project's impact and expand the number of specialists by starting with high school students. 2) We will provide an innovative mix of public, private and non-profit internships, apprenticeships and continuing education opportunities, which will significantly advance trainees' aquaculture/ fisheries expertise.

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

Outputs
Target Audience:Our main audience is high school, community college and university students who are interested to pursue higher education in aquaculture and/or fisheries as a profession. We are especially focused on preparing students for professional positions with USDA and agencies within the Administration. Our secondary audience would include aquaculture and fisheries professionals who might serve as mentors/ hosts for interns and future employers. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?In Arizona, one undergrad is working on a summer internship with Arizona Game and Fish. She completed an electroshocking short course and now certified to work on stream surveys with electroshock equipment. (Emily Fass) Three students havestarted working with an aquaponics project. They aregetting traiining on water quality analyses, feed manufacturing, and collecting and analyzing data on fish and plant growth as well as water quality parameters. Kathy Moe, Victoria Martin, LIllian Mance Grad student working on pathogens and diseases of shrimp. Marian Padilla NMSU Students who were recruited from Community Colleges: Brianna Perez (CNM; to start Spring 2025) Diego Barria (SFCC; to start Spring 2025) Summer Internships Juan Montenegro (El Paso Aquarium),Jayden Garcia (Research with Graduate Student) ,Pauline Mae Sanchez (Research with Graduate Student) Together with the students, NMSU put together 16 Aquaponic Systems in a greenhouse at Fabian Garcia Research Station. On April 10, 2024, NMSUhad an open house and invited the entire college. About 40 people attended. Another outreach event NMSUconducted was "Girls Can!" on March 23, where Dr Boeingconducted 3 workshops to 12 middle school girls each and we put together small aquaponic systems. SFCC One student graduated and sent to NMSU How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?One article has been written and published in the UA research newsletter. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?We will be offering additional scholarships in the 2024-2025 school year. We will prepare for additional summer and spring internships. We will host another Career Development Event in the Spring of 2025. We will prepare additional summer internship opportiunities Presenting program and progress at the World Aquaculture Meetings in March in New Orleans.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Objective 1. Task 1.Three day training for high school FFA and other interested STEM teachers (10 teachers trained in each of first two years): Task 2. Hosting Career Development Events at UA and NMSU Campus (ONE EACH YEAR): We hosted a Career Development Event at the University of Arizona in Feb 2024. 10 high schoolsteams (four person per team)from across the state competed in the five events. The 40 students were also provided with an overview of the grant and opportunities. Objective 2. Task 1.Recruiting high school students to pursue academic careers in aquaculture/fisheries: 1. We prepared and delivered a Power Point Presentation at the education session of the 2024 US Aquaculture Conference in San Antonio Texas. The meeting was attended by 20+ high school aquaculture teachers and 20+ students from several high school FFA chapters with aquaculture components in their programs. 2. Fitzsimmons provided a guest lecture and recruiting talk to the faculty and students at YavapaiCommunity College in Arizona. March 2024 3. Schultz presented 4 talks since June 2024 to high schools to present the program and recruit students Task 2. Presentations by students within our program: None yet Objective 3. Task 1. Provide scholarships and funds to improve capacity): Funds to SFCC and NMSU Task 2. Annual visit to CC's each year): 1.Fitzsimmons provided a guest lecture and recruiting talk to the faculty and students at Yavapia Community College in Arizona. March 2024 Objective 4. Task1. Undergraduate Scholarships (4 at NMSU, 3 at UA) (8 at SFCC): At NMSU, seven (7) undergraduates were provided with scholarships / financial support. Tyler Gilliam (first generation college student),Jayden Garcia (Latino),Juan Montenegro (Latino), Pauline Mae Sanchez (Latina),Jules Diaz (Latina),Kadence Presser (low-income; is on work study),Sohan Dissanayake (Asian American) Other undergraduate student who profited (non-salary): Sonia Lozano At SFCC four (4) undergraduates were provided with scholarships Esequiel Trujillo esequiel.trujillo1@sfcc.edu,(Latino),Cassandra Perez (female, indigenous, deaf), Ariana Montoya (Santa Domingo Pueblo, female),Jade Whiting (female) At Arizona4 undergrads were provided with financial support (internships)while working on research projects in aquaculture or fisheries projects. Lillian Mance (first gen female),Kathy Moe (Asian-American, first gen female),Emily Fas (Latina), Victoria Martin (first gen Female) One more hispanic female starting in November (Year 2) and one more Native American female starting in December (Year 2) Task2. Graduate Scholarships (5 at NMSU and at 5 UA): At NMSU, one grad student schoalrship on grantMaggy Walrath (started in Fall 2024) Other graduate studentwho profited (non-salary but travel/supplies): Elizabeth Brock (native American) At Arizona, 6graduate student students were supported with scholarshipswhile working on research projects in aquaculture or fisheries projects. Andrew Masciola, Taylor Saucier, (first gen female)Ray Sanchez (Latino),Melissa S Jacquez (native American- Dine),Marian Fernanda Guerrero Padilla (Mexican-American female), Joy Liu (Asan American female) SFCC no grad students Objective 5.Task 1. Mentoring Programs:Within each institution, we will establish mentoring programs, where each undergraduate student is assigned a graduate student mentor in addition to the PIs (NMSU and UA) or undergraduate students will be assigned another undergraduate as a "mentoring group" (SFCC). Task 2. Community Building across Institutions:

Publications