Source: TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY- KINGSVILLE submitted to
START NOW: STUDENT TRAINING IN AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH TECHNIQUES BY NOVEL OCCUPATIONAL WORKSHOPS
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
EXTENDED
Funding Source
OTHER GRANTS
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1009788
Grant No.
2016-38422-25542
Project No.
TEXW-2016-03475
Proposal No.
2016-03475
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
NJ
Project Start Date
Sep 1, 2016
Project End Date
Aug 31, 2018
Grant Year
2017
Project Director
Ruppert, D. E.
Recipient Organization
TEXAS A & M UNIVERSITY- KINGSVILLE
700 UNIVERSITY BLVD.
KINGSVILLE,TX 78363
Performing Department
Agricultural Sciences
Non Technical Summary
Texas A&M University-Kingsville, Florida International University, University of Puerto Rico-Mayaguez, and University of Texas-El Paso will provide a two-week workshop on sustainable agriculture and scientific techniques in an international tropical setting (Costa Rica) to prompt innovative thinking and collaborative cross-campus research to catalyze agriculture-related careers among undergraduates and graduate students in the plant and soil sciences. In addition to the workshop this will occur through low student/faculty ratios in follow up research, exposure to US Department ofAgriculture personnel in internship and field experiences, and training for professional certification exams. Several of these elements are under-utilized by Hispanic Serving Institutions, but are easily adoptable. The impact of these activities will be: 1) at least 50 undergraduates (UG) to earn their BS degrees, 2) empowerment of these 50+ undergraduates to think more creatively about the NIFA Priority Science Areas, 3) improved candidacy for USDA employment and interest in USDA employment for these 50+ undergraduates, 4) the graduation of at least eight M.S. students and 1 PhD student; 5) improved financial and socio-economic mobilityof 60+ students, many of whom come from disadvantaged backgrounds and are in the first generation in their families to go to school.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
100%
Developmental
(N/A)
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
1020110206140%
1021099310030%
1110210310020%
1250120106010%
Knowledge Area
125 - Agroforestry; 102 - Soil, Plant, Water, Nutrient Relationships; 111 - Conservation and Efficient Use of Water;

Subject Of Investigation
1099 - Tropical/subtropical fruit, general/other; 0120 - Land; 0210 - Water resources; 0110 - Soil;

Field Of Science
3100 - Management; 1060 - Biology (whole systems); 2061 - Pedology;
Goals / Objectives
The goal of this project is to empower underrepresented students, through excellence in the plant and soil sciences, to build careers addressing the NIFA Priority Science Areas. To achieve this goal our primary proposed activities are:1) Research-based experiential learning with low student: faculty-mentor ratios. This engagement through experiential learning will promote excellence in research and scholarship contributing to knowledge and quality of life, and, we believe, a 100% graduation rate.2) Synergizing the expertise among four collaborating HSI institutions to produce, at an international location, a plant and soil science workshop oriented toward four of the six NIFA Priority Science Areas, with undergraduates (UGs) as the primary target audience. The purpose of this workshop is to encourage creative and interdisciplinary problem solving among UGs and faculty, powerfully orienting participants towards some of the grand challenges which agriculture faces in the 21st century. This will enhance the national recognition of faculty and student achievements through an innovative program of international engagement where students and faculty provide and receive diverse perspectives and experiences.3) Professional internships with USDA agencies. Our purpose is to continue and build upon our strong external partnerships and collaborations with USDA agencies, engage USDA solutions to the NIFA Priority Areas, and bolster appreciation of the USDA as a career choice.4) Course creation to prepare students for professional exams in crop and soil sciences, initializing the professional certification process in the plant (Certified Crop Advisor; www.certifiedcropadviser.org) and soil sciences (Certified Professional Soil Scientist; www.soils.org/certifications). This will support the development of innovative teaching and promote national recognition of student achievements.5) A multi-HSI-institutional team of students coached by NRCS competes to increase soil science competencies among underrepresented students. We will form a team consisting of at least one undergraduate per HSI. The team will be coached by an NRCS soil scientist and will compete in the fall on an intercollegiate basis. The competition regards soils ('Soil Judging') and will engage our students and institutions in a pre-existing national educational and professional framework which has 1) clear educational and professional benefits, 2) relevance to the NIFA Priority Science Areas, 3) is correlated with employment in the NRCS, but is 4) (up to now) under-utilized by HSIs. Through this strategic external partnership and collaboration we will promote engagement through experiential learning and innovative teaching.
Project Methods
This projectmethods areinnovative and novel for several reasons as follows:1) Student to faculty ratios are kept low to achieve 100% graduation rates. Unlike the STEP UP program which serviced up to of 67 students/year (student:faculty ratios of 6:1 to 7:1 /year for those in faculty-mentored research), mostly at a single institution, this grant more evenly distributes research-based experimental learning across the participating universities. Each participating university will be organizing i) three research-based experiential learning opportunities and ii) three student professional internship opportunities with USDA agencies per year. The exception will be TAMUK, the lead institution, which will administer six USDA internships per year. As a result the expected ratio of students to faculty in faculty-mentored research experiences will be very low (between 0.5:1 or 2:1, depending on institution). Experience from past programs in which research-based experiential learning utilized low student to faculty ratios indicates that 100% graduation rates should be maintained.2) Most students will experience both a USDA internship and a faculty-mentored research experience. Previous TAMUK-lead grants featured exclusive use of research-based experiential learning among a small number of students (2002-2011) or a mixture of USDA and research-based internships among a much expanded roster of students (2011-2015). The former maximized graduation rates to 100%, whereas the latter did not. In the presently proposed activities we seek to maximize exposure to USDA and thereby maximize the opportunity for future USDA employment, but also produce a 100% graduation rate through close scientific mentoring with a faculty member. Thus, most students will experience both an internship with a USDA agency and a faculty-mentored research experience in alternating summers. Such a framework is an incremental but logical innovation given previous experience attempting to maximize student benefit.3) This grant goes beyond 100% graduation rates; it tries to achieve inspired and measureable excellence among its participants. While research-based experiential learning and low student to faculty ratios have been demonstrated to achieve 100% graduation rates, this grant seeks to go beyond the 100% graduation metric. It will do this by i) inspiring the scientific imagination of participants. While such inspiration may occur during research-based experiential learning and professional internships, the international (tropical) workshop in Costa Rica has inspiration built in. This international experience will feature faculty experts in NIFA Priority Areas: Food Security, Climate Variability and Change, Water for Agriculture, and Sustainable Bioenergy. Exchanges between faculty, topics spanningtwo thirdsof the NIFA Priority Science Areas, hands-on activities, and the unfamiliar setting are expected to deepen students' understanding of the immediacy of the NIFA Science Priority Areas, but also inspire them with multiple solutions and strategies for addressing these challenges.Activities will inspire measureable excellence through a course designed to prepare students for the first of two exams necessary for certification as a Certified Crop Adviser or Certified Professional Soil Scientist. These exams are obligate introductory steps in the process of certification. Once certified (after a period of time in the field and passage of a second exam) professional certification brings with it increased recognition, trust, employment options, and income. It is common at land-grant institutions for students to take the initial exams near the end of their studies but it is highly uncommon at HSIs. The proposed course decreases the intimidation factor the students face in preparing for these exams. By preparing HSI students for these professional exams we support students from underrepresented groups and enhance educational equity. Exams provide a measureable variable with which to report grant success, and the passing of such an exam can be a huge boost to a student's confidence and excellent confirmation that they have chosen the right field. Exam-preparation courses will be offered at TAMUK. Developed material will be disseminated to interested parties at the other collaboration institutions.4) The grant provides a unique, engaging venue for intense interaction with USDA-NRCS employees in an ideal learning environment. In the fall of each year students from the participating universities will be formed into a 'Soil Judging Team' to compete against land grant universities from Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. This team will be coached by an NRCS soil scientist supplied by Texas NRCS. A team made up of students from multiple institutions is unprecedented in the history of soil judging but was warmly embraced by coaches of all the potentially competing teams at the fall regional soil judging competition and is of interest to the American Society of Agronomy.Soil Judging is perhaps the best way to get to know soils.Participation in a career-related judging team increases interpersonal communication, critical thinking, and information management skills, as well as successful job placement and career success. Interaction between students, faculty and the NRCS at soil judging events has been termed 'priceless'. HSIs typically do not field teams at Soil Judging events despite the cited advantages and despite the fact that soil judging contests take place regionally on a predictable schedule. The soil judging element of this grant will evaluate its suitability as a teaching tool for HSI students from different universities. For the past four years TAMUK is likely the only HSI institution to have participated in soil judging activities. Given the cited benefits collegiate judging competitions should be a routine extra-curricular activity at agriculture-oriented HSIs. It is expected that placing an NRCS employee as the coach of a group of HSI students will strongly motivate students to consider employment with NRCS.

Progress 09/01/16 to 08/31/17

Outputs
Target Audience:START NOW implements key practices that enable first generation Hispanic undergraduates to succeed, including hands-on research training, exposure to a broad range of disciplines and subjects, mentoring supports, the opportunity to do real science and real work through a plant and soil-based international experience synergizing the unique strengths of each participating institution, the direct interaction of students with USDA employees in research, professional, and competitive contexts, research-based experiential learning, and preparation for professional certification in the plant and soil sciences. The START NOW program understands the issues of underrepresented students (personal and/or family financial needs, adjustments during the first year of college, lack of connection between academic coursework and potential careers; lack of advancement to graduate degrees) and has mitigated obstacles by: 1 organizing an alliance of four institutions that have proven experience to successfully lead collaborative HSI grant projects; 2. encouraging creativity and interdisciplinary problem solving among students and faculty so that underrepresented students can see themselves as having an important role to play in addressing agricultural challenges in the future; 3. paying stipends for internships and research activities; and 4. providing mentors (institutional and USDA) who encourage students to challenge themselves to achieve past their personal expectations. As can be seen from the documented accomplishments of the first year, experiential learning opportunities and the multiple career and educational supports of this grant have allowed 26 underrepresented students from South Texas, many of whom come from situations of severe socioeconomic challenges, to take advantage of this program to increase their academic and career success. Ninety-two percent (92%) of the 21 B.S. students, four M.S. students, and one Ph.D. student are bilingual (English and Spanish), which, in turn, will greatly assist USDA in its services to agricultural producers. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?START NOW supports hands-on research training for students across a wide range of the agricultural sciences. Through this training opportunity, students are beginning to understand what USDA employees do in their careers, and the summer interns and researchers have returned to classes with a new vision and can better see themselves as future employees of the USDA. Majors being pursued include, among others, Plant and Soil Sciences, Agricultural Science, Animal Sciences, Engineering (Civil and Industrial), Biology, and Environmental Sciences. Having access and opportunity to engage in research and career training experiences allowed these HSI students, mostly first-generation college attendees, to enhance their acquisition of needed skills that will be required to replace a retiring USDA workforce while also increasing USDA employee diversity. Jonah Trevino attended the Soil Judging Competition in Ruidoso, New Mexico, in October 2016 with faculty advisors Dr. David Ruppert and Dr. Shad Nelson. From June 19 through July 2, 2017, the START NOW project supported 12 undergraduate students and 9 faculty members in traveling to the Soltis Center for Research and Education in San Isidro, Costa Rica, for research and academic activities within preserved tropical forest ecosystems. In preparation for the trip, grant faculty from the four institutions used their interdisciplinary relationships, knowledge, and skills in plant and soil sciences to create a workshop that inspired the scientific imagination of student participants. The workshop featured four of six NIFA Priority Areas, including Priority 1: Climate Variability and Change (all faculty); Priority 4: Food Security (all faculty); Priority 5: Sustainable Bioenergy (Dr. Heidi Taboada), and Priority 6: Water for Agriculture (Dr. Shad Nelson). Classes and activities included Worldwide Trends in Agriculture, NIFA Priority Areas, Sustainable Agriculture Techniques, Universal Soil Loss Equation, Soil Health, Minimizing Erosion, and Uses of Organic Matter. Additionally, students studied tropical agriculture, plant ecology and genetic engineering, plant diseases and agriculture entomology. Trips to a biodynamic farm, an arenal volcano, coffee plantation, rainforest hike, and Earth University provided enrichment for students and faculty. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?All the participating institutions have conducted seminars to explain the program, its benefits, and the applicant selection criteria. Through the summer trip to the Soltis Center in Costa Rica, information regarding USDA priorities and opportunities was disseminated not only to the Soltis Center staff and researchers, but also to the students, faculty, and researchers at Earth University, an agricultural college with a focus on investigating sustainable agriculture in tropical environments. Student and faculty presentations and publications are a large part of the dissemination plan for the START NOW grant, which enhances the professional development for students. These international experiences, along with the skills and knowledge of the partnering research institutions (Texas, Florida, Puerto Rico) and the expertise of USDA agencies, facilitates an energetic and organic dissemination of important events and findings to communities of interest. Drs. Shad Nelson and Randy Stanko, and Ph.D. candidate Consuelo Donato attended the HSI Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico on February 17, 2017, with current and former HSI grant funded students from TAMUK who presented at the conference. Dr. Krish Jayachandran from Florida International University attentded the NACTE 2017 Conference in June, 2017 at Purdue University, and represented the START NOW programl. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?In the remaining summer months of 2017 and into grant Year 2, students, faculty, and researchers will be presenting internship and research findings from Year 1 to prfessional audiences at their home institutions, at professional conferences and meetings, and to students who may qualify for support from the grant. The Soils Professional Certification Exam Prep course will be fully implemented and at least 50% of students who take the exam will successfully pass the exam, START NOW students will compete in the USDA coached intercollegiate Soils Competition, with a multi-institutional team and a TAMUK team attending the the Soil Judging Competition in San Marcos, Texas, Studets will be participating in USDA agency FY18 internships. Mentored research and international trips will be scheduled. Co-PIs will attend the HSI Project Directors' Conference. START NOW students will move closer to graduation and to employment with USDA related agencies.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? Through the partnership of the four HSIs on the grant and USDA partnering agencies, most of the grant funded students will experience both a USDA internship and a faculty-mentored research experience and, in the grant's first year, 26 students were directly supported with stipends/scholarships during the reporting period to date. Twelve undergraduate students and 9 faculty members, funded by this grant, spent two weeks in Costa Rica at the Soltis Center, which backs onto the Children's Eternal Rainforest, the largest private nature reserve in Costa Rica, covering almost 54,000 acres of primary and secondary forest. From June 19 through July 2, 2017, the START NOW project supported these students and faculty members in research and academic activities, related to 4 of 6 NIFA priority areas, within the tropical ecosystems of the rainforest. The partnership among the project's institutions is strengthened by the strong collaborations in place between the START NOW program and USDA facilities and researchers. Consequently, an important aspect of the program is the active engagement of graduate and undergraduate students in mentored research and in internships across a range of research topics and agencies. In Year 1, the mentored research provided by the START NOW program and USDA agencies directly increased 23 of the 26 underrepresented students' access to careers in the agricultural and related sciences. Students shadowed or interned with mentors from Forest Service, National Resources Conservation Service, Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Agricultural Research Service, and Environmental Protection Agency, National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), an NSF sponsored ecological observation facility in Puerto Rico that gathers and synthesizes data on the impacts of climate change, land use change and invasive species on natural resources and biodiversity, AEE, Puerto Rico Electrical Energy Authority, as well as with researchers from the grant partner institutions. According to the University of Texas at El Paso's institutional research department, research provides students with real-world learning opportunities. These experiences in research laboratories not only expand student earning power but also promote deeper learning, improve retention and graduation, reduce time to degree, increase first-generation student confidence and motivation to pursue graduate study, and improve job placement and career success. In its first year, this grant, by focusing its efforts not only on skills acquisition and on-the-job internships, but on research-based experiential learning with low student to faculty-mentor ratios, exposed students to the research communities within the partnering institutions of the grant, as well as to USDA agency internships, thus increasing underrepresented students' opportunities for acceptance to graduate school and for careers with USDA agencies.

Publications