BUILDING A BOULEVARD FOR CAREER SUCCESS IN AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCES FOR UNDERREPRESENTED STUDENTS

• Sponsoring Institution: National Institute of Food and Agriculture
• Project Status: ACTIVE
• Funding Source: OTHER GRANTS
• Reporting Frequency: Annual
• Accession No.: 1030786
• Grant No.: 2023-70440-40177
• Cumulative Award Amt.: $9,500,000.00
• Proposal No.: 2022-11855
• Project Start Date: Jun 1, 2023
• Project End Date: May 31, 2028
• Grant Year: 2023
• Program Code: [NEXTG]- NEXTGEN Program

Recipient Organization
CALIFORNIA STATE POLYTECHNIC UNIV
3801 WEST TEMPLE AVENUE
POMONA,CA 91768

Performing Department
(N/A)

Non Technical Summary
The Building a Boulevard project supported by the NEXTGEN program will provide meaningful mentoring and financial assistance to help build a diverse and highly skilled food, agriculture, natural resource and human science workforce. Over the five-year duration of the grant, 418 students (200 master's, 180 undergraduate, and 38 community college) willwork on career-advancing projects with faculty mentors, gainin-depth discipline-specific knowledge, exercisecritical thinking skills, learn about thediversity of FANH careers and the pathways to attain these careers. The Building a Boulevard project will organize and host a series of workshops where fellows will a) participate in interactive workshops to develop and practice leadership skills; b) learn and practice the tenants of effective science communication; and c) learn about USDA Pathways program and USDA careers from USDA employees. Fellows will be financially supported to present and attend at professional and URM conferences. As a result of participating in the Building a Boulevard project, student participants will have increased discipline-specific knowledge, improved leadership skills, increased awareness of USDA careers, improved research skills (which include critical thinking and problem-solving skills), and have increased confidence in their abilities - all skills needed for a thriving FANH workforce.

Animal Health Component

(N/A)

Research Effort Categories

Basic

(N/A)

Applied

(N/A)

Developmental

(N/A)

Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)	Subject of Investigation (SOI)	Field of Science (FOS)	Percent
102	1430	1081	30%
121	0199	1070	20%
111	1131	1010	20%
502	0999	1010	20%
216	1199	1070	10%

Knowledge Area
102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 111 - Conservation and Efficient Use of Water; 216 - Integrated Pest Management Systems; 121 - Management of Range Resources; 502 - New and Improved Food Products;

Subject Of Investigation
1131 - Wine grapes; 1430 - Greens and leafy vegetables; 0999 - Citrus, general/other; 1199 - Deciduous and small fruits, general/other; 0199 - Soil and land, general;

Field Of Science
1070 - Ecology; 1081 - Breeding; 1010 - Nutrition and metabolism;

Keywords

experiential learning

critical thinking

fellowships

leadership

probl

research

underrepresented

Goals / Objectives
The Building a Boulevard progran willhelp build a diverse and highly skilled FANH workforce by recruiting, training, and mentoring students from across the California State University system. Over the five-year project, we willrecruit, train and mentor 418 students (200 master's, 180 undergraduate, and 38 community college). Our goal with ARI-NEXTGEN Fellowships is to provide meaningful financial assistance and mentoring that will allow students to focus on their studies, immerse themselves in a discipline-specific, career-advancing project, work on-campus with faculty mentors, gain knowledge about careers, and learn skills that will help advance their FANH careers. Over the five-year grant, underrepresented students will apply for 400 fellowships that will support undergraduate and graduate students to engage in research and professional FANH projects. We will organize and host a series of workshops where fellows: a) participate in interactive workshops to develop and practice leadership skills; b) learn and practice the tenants of effective science communication; and c) learn about USDA Pathways program and USDA careers from USDA employees. Fellows will be financially supported to present and attend at professional and URM conferences. Scholarships will be provided to 40 community college students to enroll in a FANH program and obtain a bachelor's degree and 10 students from our program that matriculate and complete their first year in a FANH-related PhD program will receive scholarships. Student participants will have increased discipline-specific knowledge, improved leadership skills, increased awareness of USDA careers, improved research skills (which include critical thinking and problem-solving skills), and have increased confidence in their abilities - all skills needed for a thriving FANH workforce.

Project Methods
Applying to the Program: Twice annually, (February, October) a request for applications will be advertised across the CSU system through the ARI network, the offices of Research and Sponsored Projects at each CSU campus, and offices of UG Research across the CSU system. Fellowship applications will be reviewed by a committee and awarded on a competitive basis. We find it very effective to recruit promising students from classes we teach, through department and faculty social media pages and announcements to student clubs. ARI will utilize a web-based fellowship application. Participants will agree to these program requirements: 1) participate in an IRB-approved evaluation of the program; 2) prepare a short proposal identifying and justifying the problem they wish to work on; 3) describe their proposed contribution to the project; 4) state career goals; 5) submit transcripts; 6) a signed commitment from a faculty sponsor to mentor and commit the resources needed for successful completion of the project; 7) participate in a problem solving/critical thinking discipline-specific activity culminating in a written report; 8) attend and participate in four Communicating Science and Leadership workshops; and 9) present project results at a professional meeting and/or attend a URM national conference. PI's Still and Robinson will curate a list of programs for Ag Communication and Public Policy Fellows to apply to, assist students with their applications, and serve as their CSU faculty mentors. In the event we cannot find an external internship for the Ag Communication or Public Policy Fellow, we will convert those funds to support a different fellow position.An ARI review committee comprised of CSU faculty and ARI administrators will review applications. We will favor applicants whose faculty mentors are currently funded by the ARI or whose research has been funded by an external agency or industry. This ensures faculty will have project-related resources and their project is relevant to industry or a funding agency. We will encourage projects and collaborations that are inter-collegiate and multi-disciplinary. Students will be selected based on criteria evaluation metrics, which includes the ability to adequately and persuasively address in their application: 1) problem identification and justification; 2) their contribution to the project; 3) commitment to pursue a FANH-related career or attend graduate school; 4) resources available to the student; and 5) a phone or in-person interview. Outreach, recruitment and application information will emphasize that URM students are especially encouraged to apply. Students wishing to work with faculty who are not receiving ARI or external funding at time of application are eligible for support. If a student wishes to work on a project or area of research but cannot find a faculty sponsor and otherwise has demonstrated project knowledge and ability, we will find a faculty sponsor.Faculty that agree to sponsor a student will sign a pledge to mentor the student and will assign discipline-related work that is meaningful and critical to the success of their project or professional learning experience. We will provide a mentoring guide that explicitly states mentor expectations and provide workshops that will help participants learn of different careers and pathways to obtain the career they seek. Faculty mentors will provide the student an overview of the research project, the hypotheses being tested, methodology, work/research ethics, and close oversight of the student's project throughout the year. ORecent graduates will serve as Graduate Advisors: Underrepresented students from this Building a Boulevard program will serve as graduate advisors as part of the layered mentoring approach. Recent MS and PhD graduates that have participated in previous HSI grants, as well as other successful and inspirational recent graduates from other programs, will be invited to provide mentoring and share experiences during the in-person Communicating Science and Leadership Conference and other virtual workshops. Student participants will be encouraged to follow up with mentors after the workshops.ARI-NEXTGEN Fellows will Attend Professional and URM Conferences: Each year, student fellows will be encouraged to attend a professional conference and/or a URM conference (e.g., MANRRS, HACU, BUGS, IAC, etc.). Most often, students working on research projects are expected to attend a professional conference, and we will encourage and support that. ARI-NEXTGEN Fellows will be encouraged and supported to attend and present their project data at a profession conference; students with their own data will be given preference. In addition to attending a professional conference, our ARI-NEXTGEN Fellows will be encouraged, to attend a URM conference. URM conferences provide opportunities to learn about issues facing their communities, and these events include networking and career recruiting, often with federal agencies.?ARI-NEXTGEN Fellows will Attend the Communicating Science and Leadership Conference: Each cohort of ARI-NEXTGEN Fellows will attend three virtual and one in-person events designed to improve their science communication and leadership skills. The first workshop will be virtual and the subject matter will be communicating science through oral presentations. Students will learn the basics of how to communicate their science to an educated lay person through five-minute oral presentations or two-minute lightning talks. The workshop is designed and hosted by PI Still. The second workshop, "Communicating Science and Leadership Conference", will be attended in-person and will be held in Sacramento. The conference is organized and hosted by our Building a Boulevard program. Our conference will also include a session in which USDA careers and the USDA Pathways programs are presented by USDA representatives. Students will present an oral presentation or a lightning talk of their research. Our program will also help support students to present their work at professional conferences. The third workshop will be virtual and is titled "My Career (How I Got Here)". This workshop is presented by a successful first-generation URM who tells their story of how they successfully navigated the academic and professional world, largely on their own, and the lessons they have learned along the way. These successful young men and women are articulate and inspiring and have been a huge hit in the feedback we have received from students in our HSI grant. If schedules allow, we will add an additional "How I Got Here" session to the in-person conference in Sacramento. The fourth workshop, also virtual, will include a short primer on their final project write-up, and a final oral and lightning talk session, thus providing a second opportunity for students to practice communicating their work.

Progress 06/01/24 to 05/31/25

Outputs
Target Audience:We reached students across the California State University (CSU) system from a variety of disciplines that were interested in undertaking a research or professional project to help them develop critical thinking skills and discipline-specific knowledge thatprovide the requisite foundation for asuccessful career in food, agricultural, natural resource, and human sciences (FANH). Many of the students participating in this program are low-income and first-generation, and the financial support and academic and professional mentoring that this program provides was especially impactful in helping them build confidence, knowledge and skills. Our recruitment and dissemination of our results and impact was broad and extensive. Both activities included outreach to academia (students, faculty, deans, and chief research officers), managers of state and federal agencies (including state secretaries of food and agriculture), and industry personnel across California. Most students participating in the program were enrolled in traditional FANH majors, but we also targeted and recruited students and faculty mentors from allied disciplines so that they could learn of the opportunities in agriculture, but additionally, so our agricultural and natural resource industries and agencies can take advantage of the contributions they make to our field. Changes/Problems:By far, the biggest problem we had this FY was that the funding for the program was suspended. In addition to the impact on staff that worked on this grant, it affected each of our 82 student fellows. More than 70 percent of the students attending the CSU work, and moreover,few graduate students receive a stipend or financial support from their thesis mentor. The NextGen students were counting on paying tuition and other bills with the funds they would receive through this NextGen grant, and they were clearly distressed for several weeks facing the possibility that they would not receive their final disbursement and would have to think of another way to pay tuition and bills. Part of our program is focused on careers. At this stage in life, most students have only limited exposure to the breadth of careers available to them. We provide information about different career pathways and opportunities, including employment with the federal government, which most students have never considered. We developed materials and invitedUSDA employees to talk about the different USDA agencies and jobs within the USDA and introduce theUSDA Pathways program to the students. We actively encourage our students to consider internships and possible careers with the USDA and worked independently to set up internships with USDA mentors outside the Pathways program. With the USDA budget being cut, a reduction in force, and the apparent elimination of the Pathways program,thiscareer pathway appears closed to our students. The sentiments of one student captures the situation where he wrote "the ARI-NextGen program had a disappointing turn of events toward the end. The opportunity to be able to work within the USDA was a major motivation for me in this program. It was unfortunate that these opportunities had to be closed off". What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Over the last yearwe provided opportunities for 82 ARI-NextGen fellows to attend and participate in four professional development andcommunicating science workshops. Three of the workshops were virtual, and one was in-person.Workshop 1 included information on what is science (i.e., what science is and what it isn't)why we should care about communicating the impact of our science,and the tenants of communicating science to your peers and more importantly, to non-scientists. Workshop 1 was virtual. Workshop 2 was the ARI-NextGen Communicating Science and Professional Development Symposium held in Sacramento and attended by all 82 ARI-NextGen Fellows. The program for the symposium included information on careers, including USDA careers, USDA Pathways program, graduate school, and nontraditionalcareers that are still science and/or ag-related. A USDA NRCS recruitment specialist and a regional director for the USDA NASS program attended the meeting and presentedinformation about the USDA Pathways program and engaged the students in a Q&A session. Of the 82 students attending theworkshop, only six students had heard about the Pathways Program before the workshop. As a result of the informationpresented, each indicated a USDA career would be something they would consider.Workshop 2 also included information and exercises in building confidence as a leader and time management, and was led bya nationally known leadership development professional (Dave Kelly). During the workshop, NextGen students also deliveredeither a lightning talk or a five-minute oral presentation on their work, using the communicating science tenants learned duringWorkshop 1.Of the NextGen Fellows, five students presented their research to the California State Legislature in November 2024, andcommented that although they found the experience intimidating, they were honored to have had the opportunity. Workshops 2 (in person), 3 (virtual)and 4 (virtual) were designed to let students practice communicating theirscience through a two-minute lightning talk that was gearedtoward a non-scientific audience, and a five-minute talk for an science-educated audience, that however, were not in your field of study.Each of the 82 NextGen student fellowswasrequired to give both a two-minute lightning talk and a five-minute presentation on their ARI-NextGen-supported research. During Workshop 4, students were provided an overviewand examples of how to develop and present a poster and encouraged to present their research at a professional meeting. We reminded students thatour program would provide financial support for them to attend and present at a national or regional meeting.Workshop 4 included students giving either their two-minute lightning talk or their five-minute talk on their ARI-NextGen-supported research. Students were instructed (and shown examples and the theory behind effective communication) to gear their talk toward a general audience thatwould be educated, but not experts in their field. Our assessment data indicated that all students felt the workshops were helpful in helping them communicate their science. They especially enjoyed meeting otherstudents from other campuses and learning what everyone was working on. One student wrote that "the workshops provided by the fellowship also helped my development as a science communicator. Knowing how to communicate with people from varying degrees of scientific background is crucial to effectively communicating my research. This is especially important to me because I regularly encounter people, such as growers, that are not in the scientific field, (but to whom) I need to explain my project and research to. Being able to plainly explain my research will help growers, land managers, and policy makers understand the importance of what my research is trying to accomplish, which is to make agriculture more sustainable". How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have written about the NextGen program in our ARI newsletters, on our website, and in our annual report (available on-lineand in print), all of which are widely disseminated to students, faculty, California industries, and state agencies.During the second year of the project, multiple program outreach activities and strategies were used to communicate informationabout the program. These included on-campus visits of eight CSU campuses, an informational webinar to the chief researchofficers of each of the 23 CSU campuses, and the CSU Vice Chancellor for research. We also conducted 12 informationalwebinars that were attended by students and faculty across the 23 campus CSU system, and were attended by non-profits,state and federal agencies that expressed interest in hosting our NextGen students. As a result of these efforts, we recruited82 undergraduate and graduate students into the program, each of which worked on a research or professional project, attended workshops andprofessional meetings.In addition, six students, five of which were ARI-NextGen Fellows, presented their research to state legislators and staff in Sacramento. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In April, we lost our NextGen Program coordinator and recruiter but will hire a replacement. We will also add Dr. Youngsook You as a Co-PD to replace Co-PD Robinson,who left the CSU system.Our goal is to recruit a total of 80 students and mentors into the third cohort. One of our goals last year was to expand our mentors and opportunities beyond the CSU. We sought to have students work with USDA personnel who would serve as mentors and provide projects to our students. We had USDA mentors who agreed to this, but these arrangements were put on hold due to budget cuts and reduction in force orders in the USDA. As a result, we will expand the Communicating Science and Professional Development Student Conference by inviting more industry professionals, who operate ranching, farming, and processing operations, and expand the number of state agency personnel that participate. Our goal will be to expose students to a variety of industry and state agency jobs, and perhaps host a hiring fair, which was a suggestion by both the industry and USDA attendees from last year.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? This project seeksto impactstudent participants by a) developing and improving critical thinking skills by working on a research or professional project, b) through research projects and workshops, increase their discipline-specific knowledge and gain an appreciation of myriad approaches, technology, and disciplines involved in solving problems for farmers, growers, and ranchers, c) providing significant financial assistance tohelp the student focus on their career, d) learning how to communicate science to different audiences and the importance of making your science and its impact understood to non-scientist; and e) learning about the wide array of careersthat are available and the steps they can take to obtain their goal.During the second year of the program, we provided 82 scholarships to 82 ARI-NextGen student fellows. Fellowshiprequirements included a minimum GPA of 3.0, a declared interest in pursuing a FANH career, a proposal which articulatedthe need for the project, an approach for obtaining new data or insight into the problem, and a faculty or professional mentorto provide a project, oversight and training to the student. Overall, 88% of the recruited students were either first-generation and-or low-income students. Of these, 40 percent of the students were first generation and 44 percent were low-income, and 47 percent were both low-income and first-generation. Each fellow was supported by a faculty or professionalmentor that provided a project, thus leveraging faculty and USDA resources.The program provided 82 ARI-NextGen Fellows with an opportunity to engage in career-advancing research and professionalprojects. Students worked on projects and received both direct and in-kind support from farmers, growers and ranchers that represent the agricultural and natural resource industries that are present in the great state of California. As an example, projects included walnut variety trails, improving soil health in production systems in the lower desert, controlling the native, but invasive alkaliweed in pistachio orchards, understanding the biological underpinnings driving feeding of insect pests, development of decision-making tools for land repurposing as agricultural land is fallowed, improving ecosystem services to increase sustainability in lemon and avocado orchards, improving watershed management though artificial beaver dams, to name a few. At the end of their program, exactly as last year, each student (82 this year) confirmed they learned more about their discipline by working on their project and having to take "ownership", and as a result, gained more confidence in their abilities. A large number of students specifically wrote that the financial support provided by the fellowship provided an opportunity to focus on their project, because otherwise, they would have had to take an outside job to make ends meet. By not having to take an outside job, one student wrote it allowed him to help train and mentor new undergraduate students who joined the lab. Another common observation that students wrote about was through the program they were "amazed" about the extensive research and variety of disciplines" being done in agriculture across the CSU. Each student was provided an opportunity to attend a professional meeting and present the results of their ARI-NextGen supported research or professional project. Of the 82 ARI-NextGen Fellows, at least 31 presented posters and/or oral presentationsat professional meetings. These ranged from the CSU-wide Student Symposium on Research, Scholarship and Creative Activities (RSCA), national meetings for the Ecological Society of America, the American Society of Plant Biologists, the Crop/Soil Science/ Agronomy associations, American Phytopahtological Society, American Society for Enology and Viticulture, International Urban Wildlife Conference, as well as regional meetings for some of the same associations written above. Students received instructions on effective communication of their science before attending these meetings. One student wrote that the fellowship provided him with the first opportunity to give an oral presentation and inspired him to push himself to learn more and improve his presentation skills. Another wrote that by presenting her work, she was able to make connections with students, professors and industry professionals who provided her with "new an unique insights into different aspects of her research, ways to expand, improve and apply it, which showed her the value of scientific discourse". Another student noted that participating in the ARI-NextGen program gave her an "incredible opportunity to travel to Sacramento to talk about my research which gave me confidence in my work and taught me how to make my topic more approachable to a wider audience. This kind of experience is very rare and an incredible opportunity for students". Several students stated that as a result of attending meetings and learning how to communicate their science, they felt more confident in their abilities, applied to and were accepted into PhD programs, with one stating that this experience "helped clear up any imposter syndrome" he was feeling. The majority (over 70%) of students attending CSU also have a job, and each of the 82 NextGen fellows were provided either a$25,000 scholarship as a graduate student, or $11,000 as an undergraduate student, for a total of $1,714,000. The financial support from these fellowships were impactful: one student wrote thatthe support provided by the ARI-NextGen program "allowed me to pay and finance my educational journey. There was an even bigger price outside of (the) monetary compensation. Being paid for my research implemented a sense of pride and purpose in the work I executed".

Publications

• Type: Peer Reviewed Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Petersen, C., Buonanno, M., Guan, L., Hinzer, A., Urbano, J., Hashmi, R., Shuryak, I., Parker, C., & Welch, D. (2024). Susceptibility of extremophiles to far-UVC light for bioburden reduction in spacecraft assembly facilities. Life Sciences in Space Research, 40, 2532. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lssr.2024.01.006
• Type: Book Chapters Status: Published Year Published: 2023 Citation: Zhao, J.*; Xu, M.; Baker, J.; Kinsey, S. (2023). Consumer perceptions of food proteins and protein-enriched foods. In J. Zhao, C. Liu. (Eds.), Flavour and Consumer Perception of Food Proteins. Royal Society of Chemistry.
• Type: Other Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Neill, J.L., Dillon, M.M., Cassie, B., Bollinger, S., Dansereau, S.C., Flores, A., Garcia, K.B.G., Hernandez-Thorn, R.A., Kim, M., Martinez, P.V., Pua, C.B., Ramirez, D.F., Sebastian, D., Scott, J.A., Wong, B., Yuen, A.A., Claisse, J.T., Vald�s, A. 2024. New contributions to the heterobranch sea slug biodiversity of Bocas del Toro, Panama. The Nautilus 138: 7581.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Accepted Year Published: 2025 Citation: Jasmine Tejeda Michel (2025): Analysis of Shiga Toxin Sequence Diversity in Shiga Toxin Producing E. coli Isolated from Food and Outbreaks (Cal Poly Pomona)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Urbano, Joshua (2025) : Factors that Affect the Efficacy of Far-UVC Light on the Reduction of Bioburden (Cal Poly Pomona)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Baker, Jesse (2025) Developing a Vegan Seafood Flavor Paste Using the Brown Algae Ascophyllum Nodosum by Enzymatic Hydrolysis and Maillard Reaction (San Diego State University)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Rojas, Karley (2025) Place-Based Learning Practices: A Diptych Case Study of Human and More-Than-Human Relationally at the Tribal and western academic institutional interface. (Cal Poly Humboldt)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Murdoch, Ellie (2025) Stream behavior characterization of Marin County coastal watersheds and their influence on salmonid habitat. (San Jose State University)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Rojas, Destiny (2025) Characterizing Urban Parrot Roosts on the Ground and In the Air. (Cal Poly Pomona)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Lee, Jason (2025) How does the brain know when to eat? (Cal Poly Pomona)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Dillon, Maggie (2025) Influence of Construction Material and Habitat Characteristics on Size-Specific Fish Assemblages on southern California Artificial Reefs (Cal Poly Pomona)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Jimenez, Jose (2025) Volume Loss of Emmons Glacier on Mount Rainier, WA. (California State University, Bakersfield)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Soriano, Mauricio (2025) Can Satellite Time Series Data Discern Spatial Patterns in Dry Matter Yield in Thinopyrum ponticum var. 'Jose' ('Jose' Tall Wheatgrass) Fields under High Salinity Conditions in the San Joaquin Valley of California? (Fresno State University)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Cabrera, Andy (2025) Discovering evolutionary relationships in the economically important plant genus Amaranthus. (Fresno State University)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Moallem, Jasmine (2025) Effects of Feeding Essential Oils on Laying Hens Blood Metabolites. (Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo)
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2025 Citation: Jones, Remy (2025) Assessing Microbial Diversity in Wild Ferments: A Metagenomic Study in Northern California Ciders (Sacramento State University)

Progress 06/01/23 to 05/31/24

Outputs
Target Audience:We reached target audiences across the California State University (CSU) system that included underrepresented, first generation, and low income students interested in food, agricultural, natural resource, and human sciencecareers (FANH). In addition to students, we conducted outreach to faculty, deans, and the chief research officers across the CSU system.Most students were enrolled in traditional FANH majors, but we also targeted students and faculty that are increasingly important and interested in contributing their talents and knowledge to solving myriad problems facing agriculture through mulit-disciplinary approaches. Changes/Problems:Co-Project Director Dr. Sam Robinson left the CSU system. We will replace Dr. Robinson with another person that has a science background and a wealth of mentoring students in the CSU system. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Over the last year, we provided opportunities for 37 ARI-NextGen fellows to attend four professional development and communicating science workshops. Three of the workshops were virtual, and one was in-person. Workshop 1 includedinformation on what is science, why we should care about communicating the impact of our science, and the tenants of communicating science to your peers and more importantly, to non-scientists. Workshop 1 was virtual. Workshop 2 included information on careers, including USDA careers, USDA Pathways program, graduate school, and non-traditional careers that are still science and/or ag-related. A USDA NRCS staff attended the meeting and presented information about theUSDA Pathways program and engaged the students in a Q&A session. Of the 37 students attending the workshop, only twostudents had heard about the Pathways Program before the workshop. As a result of theinformation presented, each indicated a USDA career would be something they would consider. Workshop 2 also includedinformation and exercises in building confidence as a leader and time managment, and was led by a nationally known leadership development professional (Dave Kelly). During the workshop, NextGen students also delivered either a lightning talk or a five-minute oral presentation on their work, using the communicating science tenants learned during Workshop 1. Of the NextGen Fellows, two students presented their research to the California State Legislature in October 2023, and commented that although they found the experience intimidating, they were honored to have had theopportunity. The focus of Workshop 3 focus was communicating science through a two-minute lightning talk. Each NextGen fellow was required to give a lightning talk on their ARI-NextGen-supported research. In addition, students were provided an overview and examples of how to develop and present a poster and encouraged to present their research at a professional meeting and to remember that our program would provide financial support for them to attend and present. Workshop 4 was centered on communicating science through five-minute talks. Each NextGen fellow was required to give a five-minute talk on their ARI-NextGen-supported research, but we required the talk to be geared for a general audience that would be educated, but not experts in their field. All students felt the workshops were helpful in helping them communicate their science, and especially enjoyed meeting other students from other campusesand learning what everyone was working on. One student wrote that "while my experience with the (program) provided me with many opportunities to practice my skills as a scientist, I have found the opportunities to develop my skills as a scientific communicator the most valuable", and another wrote that the feedback provided in our workshops was valuable because "It was quite difficult for me to figure out how to present my research today and lose the scientific jargon. It was very instructive for me, however, and I feel I have learned something that will benefit me as I continue on to my Ph.D. in the Fall. Thank you for your positive feedback today." How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?We have written about the NextGen program in our newsletters, on our website, and in our annual report (available on-line and in print),all of which are widely disseminated to students, faculty, California indutries, and state agencies. During the first year of the project, multiple program outreach activities and strategies were used to communicate infromation about the program. These includedon-campus visits of eight CSU campuses, an informational webinar to thechief research officers of each of the 23 CSU campuses, and the CSU Vice Chancellor for research. We also conducted 17 informational webinars that were attended by students and faculty across the 23 campus CSU system, and were attended by non-profits, state and federal agencies that expressed interest in hosting our NextGen students. As a result of these efforts, werecruited 37 graduate students into the program, each of which worked on a research or professional project, attended workshops and professional meetings. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the next reporting period, we will add a full-time recruiter and program coordinator. We will also replace Co-PD Robinson, who left the CSU system. Our goal is to recruit a total of 80 students into the second cohort. Our goal is to recruit USDA personnel to serve as mentors and provide projects to our students. Currently, we have zero USDA people serving in this role. We will expand Workshop 2 , which is our Communicating Science and Professional Development Student Conference. This year we will invite all the CSU NextGen schools to attend and participate, as well as develop a program that servest their needs and provides students and PD's opportunities to network and develop ideas of how we could work together to leverage resources and opportunities.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? This project spefically wishes to impart an impact on the student participants by a) providing significant finanical assistance to help the student focus on their career, b) improve their critical thinking skills by working on a research or professional project, c) learn the importance of communicating science to different audiences, and d) learn about the wide array of careers (especially USDA careers) that are available and the steps they can take to obtain their goal. During the first year of the program, we provided 37 scholarships to 37 ARI-NextGen student fellows. Fellowship requirements included a minumumGPA of 3.0, a decalred interest in pursuing a FANH career, a proposal which articulated the need for the project, an approach for obtaining new data or insight into the problem, and a faculty orprofessional mentor to provide a project, oversight and training to the student.Overall, 89% of the recruited students were one or more of the following: an underrepresented minority, first-generation, or low income student. Of these, fifty percent of the students were underrepresented or first generation and63 percent were low-income. Each fellow was supported by a faculty or professional mentor that provided a project, thus leveraging faculty and USDA resources. The program provided 37 ARI-NextGen Fellows an opportunity to engage in career-advancing research and professional projects. Students worked on diverse projects that ranged from determining the impact of including native vegetation in avocado and lemon orchards in supporting songbirds and eating insect pests, identifying genes that improve tolerance of lettuce to water deficits during production, the effects of essential oils and prebiotic additives on egg quality, developing a sustainable aquacutlure method for sea lettuce, assessing food safety knowledge of urban agricultural practioneers in California. At the end of their program, each of the 37 students confirmed they learned more about their discipline by doing the project and and they gained more confidence in their abilities. One student wrote that the fellowship provided an opportunity toward his career goal of leading impactful research that contributes to agricultural sustainability and food quality... and the experience gained during the fellowship would serve as a strong foundation for his doctoral studies and future career". Six NextGen students attended the USDA Ag Outlook and toured the USDA Beltsville labs, after which one student decided that after graduating with a masters degree he would seek to work at an ARS lab, and in fact, has reached out to one of the Beltsville labs. Five NextGen students attended the Spring NextGen Student Summitt in Washington, D.C. After the Spring Summit trip, one student wrote"When I attended the NextGen Spring Summit in Washington DC, I learned how important these programs are for advancing food access and production all across the US. Being reminded that food is a necessity for all can inspire us to be more involved with the improvement of agricultural policies in our communities" and that after graduating, her goal is to pursue a career in the USDA relating to pesticide managment and policy and that the NextGen program "brought me closer to that goal by exposing me to the agriculture community and practices that I was not familiar with before, as well as potential career opportunities & networking". Of the 11 students that attended the two NextGen student meetings, nine had never visited Washington DC. Each student was provided an opportunity to attend a professional meeting and present the results of their ARi-NextGen supported research or professional project. Of the 37 ARI-NextGen Fellows, 19 presented posters and/or oral presentations at professional meetings.These ranged from national meeting of the Ecological Society of America, AquaCulture America 2024, an REEU meeting in Knoxville, Yale Let's Talk Research Event, Smithsonian Fellow's Symposium, SACNAS, the International urban Wildlife Conference, and the Southern California Academy of Sciences. Attendance at these meetings provided experience in communicating their results of their NextGen-supported projects.A student wrote that "science can be challenging when tackled in isolation, so meeting new people with fresh ideas has been really beneficial. Presenting my research to large audiences is also something I haven't had much experience with, so I've had to work on overcoming my fear of public speaking". Another student especially valued the nextworking opportunities writing that"what I found most rewarding about the (NextGen) program were the various opportunities and being able to make connections with other researchers working on similar projects". Attendance at the national meetings also provided students and opportunity to advance their careers.As a result of attending a national meeting and presenting his research, one student will entera PhD program in Fall 2024 after a professor heard his oral presentation and visited with him after the talk. Themajority (over 70%) of students attending CSU also have a job, and each of the 37 NextGen fellows were provided a $25,000 scholarship for a total of $925,000. The financial support from these fellowships are impactful: onestudent wrote that having the financial support "gave him an opportunity to explore an interest that was held dormant for years" and that "it's been rewarding to have the time and space to just learn for the sake of learning - to allow for creativity and innovation"while another wrote that it gave her "an opportunity to find out exactly what she wanted to do in the future".

Publications

• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Soderstrom, CP. ASSESSMENT OF LOCI ASSOCIATED WITH WATER USE EFFICENCY IN LETTUCE. A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science In Plant Science.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Published Year Published: 2024 Citation: Ferrenberg, Z. Effects of Feeding Essential Oils on Late-Laying Hens Production Parameters, Egg Quality, and Gut Microbiome" Cal Poly San Luis Obispo
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Townsend, L. Investigation of Monkeyface Prickleback (Cebidichthys violaceus) for Commercial Finfish Aquaculture
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Sandoval, C. Interactions between urban wildlife, people, and ticks across the San Gabriel Valley, California.
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Pelayo, T. Identification and Characterization of Novel Splicing Variant Isoforms in the Flowering Gene Network in Soybean (Glycine max) Amidst Environmental Variability
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Kagan, K. Experimental Verification of Inferred Regulatory Interactions in the Circadian Clock and Flowering Gene Networks in�Glycine max
• Type: Theses/Dissertations Status: Other Year Published: 2024 Citation: Caldera, K. Field Evaluation of Walnut Blight in Newly Developed Varieties in the Northern California Region