Performing Department
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Non Technical Summary
LEADING Hispanics to Federal Agency Employment (LEADING Hispanics) will develop and sustain the next generation of the Hispanic food, agriculture, natural resources and human sciences (FANH)workforce. Specific objectives are to 1) improve retention and graduation rate, time-to-degree, and USDA career placement of Hispanic students, by increasing scientific, technical and soft skills; 2) create a pipeline for Hispanic students to progress from high school through undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and to federal employment in the FANH workforce; 3) establish and foster peer-peer, teacher-student, faculty-student, and federal employee-student mentoring relationships to enhance Hispanic student awareness and preparation for internship and career opportunities at USDA agencies; 4) develop cooperative links and sustainable partnerships between FANH programs at four HSIs, local high schools, and USDA agencies to promote FANH degree and career pursuit; and 5) be a published, transferrable educational model for other higher education institutions to adopt or adapt. LEADING Hispanics will develop a vast support system through Student Scholarship Projects (e.g., financial support, Club Lingüístico, Symposium and Career Fair, impactful mentoring), Experiential Learning Projects (e.g., USDA internships and educational tours; received support from 219 USDA sites), and Outreach and Engagement Projects (Youth program, Community program, website and social media) that will prepare students for federal employment. LEADING Hispanics aligns with the primary goal of the NEXTGEN program and with USDA strategic goals 5 and 6 by directly impacting undergraduate (295) and graduate (142) students, and high school students (800) and teachers (800). Participants will increase their knowledge and build awareness of pathwaysleading to training opportunities and employment in the federal sector.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
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Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
LEADING Hispanics is an integrated program that includes student scholarship, experiential learning, and outreach and engagement components. The overarching goal of LEADING Hispanics is to develop and sustain the next generation of the Hispanic FANH workforce and build awareness of the processes and pathways leading to training opportunities and employment in the federal sector. Specific objectives of LEADING Hispanics are:Objective 1: LEADING Hispanics will improve retention rate (20%), time-to-degree (0.5 years), graduation rate (20%) and USDA career placement (25%) of Hispanic students by increasing scientific, technical and soft skills through experiential learning and research.Objective 2: LEADING Hispanics will create a pipeline for Hispanic students (n=800 high school, 295 B.S., 100 M.S., and 42 Ph.D.) to progress from high school through undergraduate and graduate degree programs, and to federal employment in the FANH workforce.Objective 3: LEADING Hispanics will establish and foster peer-peer, teacher-student, faculty-student, and federal employee-student mentoring relationships to enhance Hispanic student (n=295 B.S., 100 M.S., and 42 Ph.D.) awareness, understanding, and preparation for internship and career opportunities at USDA agencies.Objective 4: LEADING Hispanics will develop cooperative links and sustainable partnerships between FANH programs at four Hispanic Serving Institutions [HSIs; Texas A&M University-Kingsville (TAMUK), University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez (UPRM), New Mexico State University (NMSU), and Texas State University (TXST)], local high schools (n≥20), and USDA agencies (n≥5) to promote FANH degree and career pursuit to Hispanic high school students (n=800) and teachers (n=800) and Hispanic college students (n=437).Objective 5: LEADING Hispanics will be a published (n≥10 publications, presentations, abstracts, social media, website), transferrable educational model for other higher education institutions to adopt or adapt.
Project Methods
Every fall and spring semester, we will recruit Hispanic undergraduate and graduate students from the four collaborating institutions via a robust recruitment plan led by underrepresented students. Once students are selected for program entry, they will receive financial compensation, intentional mentorship via frequent meetings with their faculty mentor, and conduct original research with a faculty mentor. Students will also participate in Club Linguistico, where they will receive group mentorship, experience professional/personal development activities, and develop their bilingual communication skills. Students will travel with faculty to professional education and scientific meetings to disseminate research findings and develop their professional networks. Student performance will be assessed with a rubric at the end of every semester and additional students will be hired to replace outgoing students due to graduation or program exit.Every year, the collaborating institutions will embark on an educational tour to various USDA agencies as a group. Further, institutions will take turns to host a Symposium and Career Fair where USDA agencies travel to the hosting campus and interact with college students and the wider community. The collaborating institutions not hosting the Symposium and Career Fair during that year will travel to the host institution. Undergraduate and graduate Hispanic students will be placed in paid USDA summer internships each summer. Finally, each institution will host outreach for high school students and high school teachers annually.Internal and external evaluation will occur annually, at a minimum, and products will be disseminated via presentations, social media posts, website maintenance, and publications regularly.