Recipient Organization
TEXAS STATE UNIVERSITY
601 UNIVERSITY DRIVE
SAN MARCOS,TX 78666
Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
The educational attainment gap between non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics of all races continues to be significant and has deepened because of the COVID-19 pandemic (U.S. Department of Education, 2021). Hispanics often have the largest representation gap at the highest levels in academic leadership positions and in USDA leadership. Detailed data from the National Science Foundation document the dramatic underrepresentation of Hispanics earning doctorates and show that while Hispanics constitute a significant portion of the population, Hispanics account for only 7% of doctorate recipients (National Center for Science, 2021).In Texas, Hispanics are critical to the success of the achieving greater educational attainment among Texans of all backgrounds (e.g., 60x30TX Plan and Building a Talent Strong Texas). Hispanics accounted for 65 percent of the recent population growth in Texas, for example, yet Hispanics remain underrepresented in the state's higher education institutions (2015-2030 Texas Higher Education Strategic Plan). To advance and to meet its professional needs, the USDA, like Texas, needs to invest in preparing the workforce's next generation of leadership. CAMINOS For Success is such an investment.CAMINOS For Success is a project designed to engage, educate, and empower underserved students to raise their professional aspirations and achieve those raised aspirations. The yearlong fellowship enhances the education of 64 graduate students with mentoring and coaching; a data analytics and STEAM career institute; a research competition; a USDA site visit; and recognition of fellows by the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE).A major goal of the fellowship is to build community among the fellows. The CAMINOS community will also foster a sense of belonging, which itself is difficult to create for traditionally underserved students, but it will also emphasize traditional academic success. Fellows will meet regularly with mentors and other fellows over the course of the year. Topics of discussion include, for example, successfully navigating graduate school while balancing challenges such as perceptions of imposter syndrome or of exclusion. Perceptions of those seeking education, especially advanced education, can appear to be mechanized. The CAMINOS community provides an opportunity for students to understand the reality regarding the work/life balance of those with even the most advanced education and credentials.The AAHHE National Conference occurs at about the midyear point of the fellowship by which time the fellows have established familiarity with the CAMINOS community. The AAHHE conference provides fellows with opportunities to network with highly successful individuals who also share similar cultural and economic backgrounds. This is an opportunity to eliminate any perceived barriers between the fellows and ambitious career goals.Toward the end of the fellowship, the data analytics institute will involve scientific reasoning, especially regarding causality and translating theory into statistical models. The institute will also include a leadership skills development component and a social and behavioral science component which will illuminate the historical context in which Hispanics are pursuing higher education. The institute will situate fellows' educational journey in the larger context of a history that limited access to opportunities for advanced education. And it will be an opportunity for fellows to reflect on the entirety of the yearlong experience, and better understand their personal and professional growth.Texas State University has a tradition of Hispanic community engagement through co-curricular/workshop, and we will include and build on that tradition. The institute will include, for example, TXST alumni to discuss career opportunities and career trajectories in the USDA.
Animal Health Component
(N/A)
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
Objective #1: Build community and a sense of inclusion with fellows and mentors through a series of activities including coaching, engagement, and social media networking.Objective #2: Implement a Data Analytics and STEAM Career Institute (annually) that importantly includes "Agriculture" in the STEM fields and integrates: (1) quantitative methods education applicable to USDA data needs; with (2) a social and behavioral component that provides the professional development necessary for fellows to confidently raise aspirations; and (3) the opportunity to engage with and connect with leaders in the field to increase access to jobs in the Food, STEM, Agriculture, and other USDA-related fields. And to prepare fellows for the workforce, professional development will also discuss intercultural skills and communication.Objective #3: Work with AAHHE to: (1) promote and recognize outstanding scholars in Food, Agricultural, and Life Sciences; and (2) strengthen the graduate fellows' capacity to network with highly successful Hispanic role models.Objective #4: Promote and encourage high-quality research and degree completion by hosting a research competition for graduate fellows.Objective #5: Facilitate an annual USDA site visit to provide fellows with real-world career insights.Objective #6: Establish a pool of underrepresented but highly competitive candidates for doctoral study, internships and career opportunities with USDA and related agencies.Objective #7: Identify and refer graduate fellows to USDA internship opportunities and coordinate with USDA agencies to explore career opportunities.
Project Methods
Efforts. Drs. Bob Edward Vásquez, Gloria Martinez, and T. Jaime Chahín, the Project Co-Directors (PD) will work closely to integrate all five components of the project. Dr. Vásquez will: (1) conceptualize, develop, and implement the Data Analytics and STEAM Career Institute; and (2) organize the research competition process. Dr. Martinez, who is on AAHHE's Board of Directors, will (3) ensure a successful partnership with AAHHE so that fellows can participate and be recognized at the AAHHE conference. Dr. Martinez will work on recruitment efforts for fellows we well as (4) recruitment for the mentors component; and (5) the plans for a USDA site visit. Dr. T. Jaime Chahín will collaborate on all aspects of the project as needed to ensure that a strong professional network of mentors, presenters, and an outstanding pool of fellows is selected. These personnel will coordinate the day-to-day activities of CAMINOS For Success, maintain social media venues, and stay in direct contact with all graduate fellows. The personnel will work to develop the program and contract with mentors and presenters. The key personnel will manage, develop, and implement CAMINOS For Success. Key personnel will coordinate the day-to-day activities of the CAMINOS For Success project, maintain contact for social and web media announcements, and stay in direct contact with all graduate fellows. Key personnel will also assist in developing individual profiles of students, mentors, and presenters which will be integrated into social media venues to ensure effective communication concerning internships, job opportunities, research products, and agency reports that might apply to the research interests of graduate fellows.Evaluation Plans. Project Co-Directors at Texas State University (Drs. Bob Edward Vásquez, Gloria Martinez and T. Jaime Chahín) will work collaboratively with the external project evaluator, Dr. Pedro Reyes, who is on the faculty at The University of Texas at Austin, to design a formative and summative evaluation plan, and communicate with graduate fellows, mentors, and presenters to then write a comprehensive analysis addressing the objectives and outcomes of the CAMINOS For Success Project. We will compare the performance of fellows (e.g., degree completion rate, persistence rate, doctoral program application and acceptance rate) with national-level data and those available from the Food and Agricultural Education Information System (FAEIS). The evaluation design will focus on key questions such as success in the major goals and document the connectedness of the major activities to the goals. As the project continues, the evaluation plan will adjust as needed to achieve the most effective and objective evaluation of the project.