Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
This project aims to develop culturally aware leaders and role models from underrepresented minority college students (UMCS) who will be advocates for: diversity in the profession; the profession at large; underserved community members; and for policy change. Diversity in dietetics is an issue as the vast majority of dietitians are White, not representing the population they serve. We will implement a Becoming Culturally Aware Leaders (BCAL) Scholars program; a cohort of primarily UMCS graduate/undergraduate students will be provided with scholarships and training in an academic year via completing a foundational minicourse and participating monthly meetings to learn how storytelling can be used to advance cultural responsiveness, and maximize effectiveness of leadership, mentoring, and advocacy. They will complete a leadership/advocacy project to implement their skills, and will serve as mentors for dietetic students after their first semester being mentored by a professional. Students in the Social Work department will co-facilitate BCAL Scholars meetings. A video of dietitians from underrepresented groups telling the stories of their experience in dietetics will be compiled. Intended impacts are to 1) support UMCS in becoming confident leaders; 2) develop projects that allow students to implement leadership and advocacy skills; and 3) increase cultural awareness/humility among all dietetics majors. During the granting period, a total of 60 undergraduate/graduate students from two universities will participate. Continuation of the program has been planned. The components of this project will be compiled in a "BCAL Toolkit" that will be available for all dietetics and agricultural programs.
Animal Health Component
50%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
50%
Developmental
50%
Goals / Objectives
Project Goal: Recruit, retain, and support UMCS dietetics students in becoming culturally responsive leaders, advocates, mentors, and role models in the profession with an advocacy mindset. Storytelling will be highlighted in each of the following objectives:Develop/implement/evaluate an academic year BCAL Scholars Program for a total of 60 undergraduate/graduate students pursuing a career in dietetics that includes:Attending an orientation and six BCAL Scholar seminars with Social Work students. Scholars will learn about leadership, advocacy, mentoring and storytelling through a culturally aware lens in a safe space of belonging. They will learn how to effectively tell, elicit, and listen to a storyto increase learning, enhance empathy, influence attitudes, and build connection with others. They will share stories in a supportive environment.Completing a 10 clock-hour online minicourse (non-credit) on foundational concepts in leadership, advocacy, and cultural awareness. The course will include how storytelling can be effective in leadership/advocacy roles and build bridges among diverse populations.Being mentored by an RDN for the duration of the program. The mentorship program is detailed in a separate document.Participating in two book club meetings (end of each semester as part of the 3rd monthly seminar) focusing on storytelling, leadership, advocacy, diversity, and other critical issues (Scholars will choose books from a selection emphasizing underrepresented authors).BCAL Scholars will implement their leadership/mentoring/advocacy skills:In their second semester in the program, the Scholars will be matched with a dietetics student to mentor to develop excellence in mentoring skills. Details in separate document.Scholars will choose one leadership/advocacy project to complete from a variety of projects that involve civic engagement, health equity, professional promotion, or recruitment of UMCS to the major.Funds from this grant will be used for scholarships to the Scholars to diminish the barrier of the cost of the education required to become and RDN.
Project Methods
Advisory Board consisting of faculty, leaders in the profession of dietetics, dietitians from underrepresented groups, BCAL Scholars who have completed the program, and faculty/university administrators with leadership, advocacy, and/or CAH expertise will provide guidance on this project. A past-president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics will not only participate in a Scholars monthly meeting to speak on advocacy, but will also connect Scholars with leadership/advocacy projects that are in the national spotlight. The advisory board will meet once a semester for the first year, then annually and as needed to provide advice and guidance. A consultant, Dr. Craig Johnson, will be hired to oversee the evaluation of this project, interfacing with an outside evaluation firm that will inform the evaluation. We will secure bids to identify the outside evaluation firm when we are informed of funding.Along with the PDs and Key Personnel, the Advisory Board will include a "team of storytellers." Of note, Antonio Mirande, PhD, RDN who has published one book on the first-generation college student experience using storytelling, with a follow-up book to be published summer 2024 and Craig Johnson, PhD, a psychology professor with expertise in storytelling will be on this team. The team will read resources on storytelling the first year and meet 3 times to discuss to further our expertise on storytelling.A Canvas container (the online learning management system used at both universities) will be built to include a minicourse on foundational knowledge that demonstrates cultural humility, awareness of personal biases, and an understanding of cultural differences as they relate to effectiveness as a future role model in the profession. This course will include content on leadership (which includes advocacy and mentoring) and storytelling. The Canvas container will also include pertinent resources, assignments, and assessments on implicit bias, cross-cultural attitudes, microaggressions, and creating inclusive environments.Plan for achieving project objectives:Objective 1: Develop a BCAL Scholars ProgramDuring the first year, the BCAL Scholar program curriculum and content will be developed with input from the Advisory Board, leadership and advocacy experiences will be identified, and commitments from mentors will be obtained.The BCAL Scholars will be recruited and selected in the Spring semester of each year. Both Universities will recruit undergraduate and graduate dietetics students to participate in the program via social media, department newsletters, posted fliers, and announcements. Hispanic students will be recruited through MSU Denver Nutrition Department's Diversify Dietetics Club and CPP Food Science and Nutrition Department's Estudiante de Dietetica program. Applications will include a personal statement describing why they chose dietetics as a profession, their personal and professional goals, how this program will help achieve their goals, and a CAH statement that includes how their lived experiences inform their interest in working with underrepresented communities. Students must be in "good standing" in their program, and at least a Junior for undergraduate students. There will be ten Scholars per cohort for three school years at both Universities for a total of 60 Scholars for the duration of the grant. Students must be willing to commit to the one academic year duration of the program. Heiss and Torro will oversee this component at MSU Denver; Isom will oversee at CPP.After selection, the BCAL Scholars will participate in an orientation at the beginning of the Fall term, where they will gain an overview of the program, including an introduction to storytelling, CAH, leadership, and advocacy. They will participate in team-building exercises and baseline assessments will be collected. They will complete the online foundational minicourse before mid-Fall semester. PD Greathouse will provide leadership for this component.The Scholars will participate in monthly seminars held in a high-flex space so that Scholars from both schools can interact to learn content, share stories, discuss projects, and interact with guest speakers. Leaders in dietetics, underrepresented RDNs, and experts in advocacy and mentoring will be invited guests. The Scholars will be required to write a guided reflection at the end of each meeting. At the beginning of each semester, Scholars will choose a book related to storytelling, leadership, and CAH issues (from a provided list) for a "book club" meeting, which will be the last of the monthly seminars each term.All nutrition/dietetics students at each University will be informed of the book selection and invited to attend the book club meeting to expand the impact of this program.MSU Denver Social Work students will attend monthly seminars to create spaces of belonging for the Scholars. Social Work students will be recruited from the Social Work departments' Student Advisory Council, Building Allies of Diversity student group, and Mentoring program. Heiss and Greathouse will coordinate this grant component.The Scholars will be funded to attend a professional conference to network with RDNs and attend educational sessions. Other components of the Scholars program are below.Objective 2: BCAL Scholars will implement their leadership/mentoring/advocacy skillsThe Scholars will be matched with an RDN mentor in the fall, and once trained, serve as a mentor a student in and introduction to the profession course. They will know how to use storytelling to increase the effectiveness of mentoring. Specifics of the mentoring component are based on the successful POHA model and is described in the required separate document.Each Scholar will choose one leadership/advocacy project to complete from a selection of identified projects that can be accomplished within the school year. Projects options will include: 1) working with a community partner that provides nutrition services to an underserved population (see LOS from internship directors); 2) leading contributions toward the completion of a Nutrition Spanish Terminology workbook (this was started with a prior grant and will be included in the BCAL Toolkit); 3) advocacy projects related to policy, promoting the profession, or on an issue relevant to underrepresented groups in the profession; 4) involvement segments of the video series of RDNs from underrepresented groups telling their stories; or 5) development/delivery of a recruitment presentation at a community college or high school. The Scholars may come up with projects themselves. They will be encouraged to include storytelling in some manner as appropriate. (Torro, Heiss, Isom, and Greathouse will coordinate this component at their respective universities).Additional details on the videotape project to be included in the Toolkit: Dr. Alfredo Sanchez will lead this project (see LOS), and PDs will help organize. Underrepresented RDNs in the profession (a total of at least 10 from different races/ethnicities) will be recruited to have their stories videotaped. They will be interviewed to tell their story of becoming and being a dietitian, CAH issues faced as a dietitian, why they chose dietetics, challenges encountered, how they overcame barriers in their education and career, and their message to future dietitians. The video will enhance empowerment/confidence of UMCS dietetics majors by viewing the stories of role models similar to them. A link to the videos will be distributed to community colleges, high schools, and university career centers to increase awareness of dietetics, especially to underrepresented students.