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GEARING UP FOR THE FALL SEMESTER |
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Can you believe the summer is coming to a close? We can't either! But summer ending means the fall semester is right around the corner, and we at CRE are gearing up for a great fall semester as we all make the return to campus and in-person classes. In this newsletter, we'll be covering everything CRE has done this summer and will also provide some resources in looking toward the start of the fall semester, which we find especially important as we make the return to face-to-face campus life after more than a year of virtual university, virtual programming, and Zoom meetings.
Before we delve into all that CRE is offering this fall, let's take a look at what we and our students have been up to this summer!
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Over the summer, we've been working to update our UROP site on the HSF House Blogs. We put our UROP Leader and Student Spotlights on the site to help showcase what our students and leaders are up to in the program. This is also a way to showcase how our program is growing and changing. As we get closer to the fall semester starting, we will start adding our new cohort of UROP Leaders and Students onto the website, so stay tuned for that! |
UROP Leader Spotlight on Deborah Olivier
My name is Deborah Olivier (she/her/hers), and I am a fourth year student from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. I am pursuing a dual degree in music performance (violin) and environmental science. My research interests include climatology, marine conservation, and musicology based on non-Western tonalities. As part of the UROP program, my research focused on marine sponges in the Florida Keys. This year will be my second year at FSU, as I am a transfer student. Fun fact: I am fluent in German and have dual citizenship in Germany!
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Our 2021 Tech Fellows had a great summer working on their internships, but now our cohort has finished their internships with different design studios and tech startups in Tallahassee, Tampa, and Orlando! Our cohort has worked throughout the summer on updating their blogs, which you can read below. |
Tech Fellows Spotlight on David Wedderburn
"Throughout the first half of the internship, I struggled with being proactive due to not
knowing what I wanted to get out of this experience. Tampa Bay Wave is a small team that has been known to accomplish big things. So, there have been times when they didn’t have
assignments for me because they were preoccupied with their workloads. It also didn’t help when I didn’t know what I wanted to do or work on. Nevertheless, as I learned what I wanted, my experience became more fulfilling, and I started seeing growth in myself and my abilities. I realized that this internship opportunity is the perfect time to study for my excel certification and revise the company’s outdated spreadsheets to hone my excel skills. This was my first step towards being a more proactive intern."
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Our Global Scholars and Gap Years have been working really hard on their projects even in the midst of a pandemic. They have had to pivot all of their programming to a virtual setting, yet even with this challenge, our students have prevailed. |
Gap Year Spotlight on Neika Alexandre
"Since my summer experience has started, my life has done a complete 180. At the beginning of the summer, my day-to-day activities were sleeping, eating, and hanging out with friends. Life was pretty simple, and I was doing nothing during the day. This break felt great since the spring semester took a big impact on me. When my experience started, it completely changed my usual activities. Since my experience is a 7-week course, it is a lot of information in a short amount of time. From the beginning of the course, it has been hectic. It has been a lot all at once, and it has been hard to adjust to this new life. Now, every day of the week is busy for me. I am always doing assignments to prepare for the course. Although it was overwhelming in the beginning, I have got used to my busy schedule. I used to complain about not having a lot to do, so now this course helps fill my time. I have learned a new set of skills that has allowed me to step outside of my comfort zone."
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Gap Year Spotlight on Mahd Ahmad Fayyaz
"Some things that I have planned for my gap year experience include community service through The Pakistan Red Crescent Society (PRCS) and a local NGO called Affinity. Not only this, I plan on having a better command of web development, graphic designing, 3d modeling, etc., and try my luck with freelancing on websites like Fiverr. Similarly, I wish to explore more about the major that I got into for which I might enroll in some online courses to get to know it better... I plan on starting my gap year by getting my hands on some tutorials from YouTube or a website one of my family friends told me about: lynda.com. Going through these thoroughly, I will begin to make my way into graphic designing software and start with some basic projects and move on to more technical and advanced projects to enhance my portfolio for freelancing websites. This will help me get some real-life insight into the technical world and help me acquire more useful skills that might come in handy during my college time or later on in life. Similarly, enrolling in online courses will shed more light on how I can make the most out of the major I got into and what route I must follow to succeed."
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Along with our Global programming students, our 2021 IDEA Grant cohort also had to pivot given the pandemic, especially since many of our IDEA Grant students wanted to travel for their projects. Even with this challenge, our students have done an amazing job with their projects, and we are so proud! |
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IDEA Grant Spotlight on Guissella Cruz
"I am now in the Honors Program as an Undergraduate Honors Thesis Candidate in the Department of Sociology with Dr. Brendan Lantz as my supervisor. Through the Honors program, I am investigating the impact Image-Based Sexual Abuse (IBSA) has on low-income BIPOC youth and the extent to which victimization distorts youth’s understanding of consent. As a 2021 Social Science Scholar, 2021 Global Scholar, and 2021 IDEA Grant recipient, I am dedicating my summer project to my Honors Thesis. I am eager to uplift and center the experiences of Black and Brown survivors victimized by image-based sexual abuse.
Growing research demonstrates there is a lack of understanding revolving around this form of sexual abuse. For my summer project, I am currently working on an Academic Literature Review to fill any gaps within the research and to better understand Image-Based Sexual Abuse which is the “disclosure of sexually explicit images without consent and for no legitimate purpose” (Franks 2017). During the summer, I have been working on creating a thematic interview guide and submitting an Institutional Review Board (IRB) Application to start interviewing survivors this upcoming Fall semester. Image-based sexual abuse is an emerging form of abuse that largely targets children, women, and the LGBTQI community. With the increasing access children have to the internet, children are also largely victimized and sexually extorted as a result of their vulnerability. More so, BIPOC youth are hypersexualized at a young age, making them more susceptible to the victimization of IBSA and may even go as far as being human trafficked by their peers as young as their pre-teens. During this upcoming Fall, my study will further investigate the prevalence of image-based sexual abuse among BIPOC youth and the extent to which IBSA distorts the understanding youth have of consent."
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EVENTS WE HOSTED THIS SUMMER |
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2021 Virtual Summer Research Day took place on Thursday, July 15, 2021. The event was interdisciplinary with our two presenters, Olivia Wynn and Eric Cruz Murphy, representing biology and optometry in their research projects. Our presenters did such an amazing job, both of them fulfilling their Garnet and Gold Scholar Society public dissemination requirement.
Congratulations to Olivia and Eric!
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UROP RESEARCH MENTOR PORTAL DEADLINE IS AUGUST 16, 2021 |
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When you are ready to upload a research or creative project to request research assistants, make sure to submit your project by August 23rd, 2021 to the database using SurveyMonkeyApply: https://fsu-cre2.smapply.us/
Facilitated by the Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement (CRE), UROP is a nationally recognized, yearlong program in which 400 high-achieving underclassmen, transfer, and veteran students serve as research assistants to faculty, post-docs, graduate students, and campus partners.
Faculty, post-docs, graduate students, and campus partners who have submitted research projects to the portal will be contacted by UROP students the first few weeks of fall semester to schedule interviews. After finding a good match, research mentors and UROP students sign a contract outlining the expected duties and hours for the assistantship, which runs through spring semester. In addition, all UROP students enroll in a yearlong research colloquium and present a poster of their contribution to the research mentor’s project at the annual FSU Undergraduate Research Symposium.
The eager and talented students who have applied for UROP will be excited to start working as research assistants—but we still need more research proposals from all of you! Your participation will enable more students to participate in undergraduate research, while continuing to build our nationally recognized undergraduate research portfolio at FSU.
Benefits for research mentors submitting a UROP project include:
- Undergraduate research assistance
- Materials grants and recognition: faculty can receive a materials grant of up to $1,000 ($500/student, up to two students) and be eligible for a $2,000 Undergraduate Research Mentor Award
- Post-docs can receive materials grants of up to $500 ($500/student, up to two students) , while Graduate students can receive materials grants of up to $250
- Graduate students/Post-docs can be eligible for a $500 Undergraduate Research Mentor Award, while acquiring mentoring experience through a structured program
Please remember, by posting a project to the portal, there is no obligation to accept a UROP student if you do not find a good match. Feel free to contact CRE Associate Director, Alicia Batailles, with any questions you might have at alicia.batailles@fsu.edu.
Since the COVID-19 crisis may affect our ability to have in-person research opportunities for students, students can start by working on background research and continue with in-person research once it is appropriate conduct in-person research again.
Thank you for supporting undergraduate research at FSU!
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UROP RESEARCH MENTOR INFO SESSIONS |
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The CRE is hosting virtual info sessions for faculty, postdoctoral researchers, graduate students, and campus partners to learn more about becoming a Research Mentor as part of the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP)!
Come learn more about becoming an Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) Research Mentor! At this session, you will hear about the benefits of working with a UROP research assistant as well as associated funding and awards, including perspectives from previous UROP Research Mentors and UROP students in the program. UROP Research Mentors who are currently working on a project and need help with their research can have student research assistants on their projects for an academic year at no cost as part of UROP.
Information sessions will be from 3:30-4:30pm on the following dates:
Info sessions will be held on Zoom and will be recorded for later access if you cannot attend.
If you have any questions about UROP or submitting a project proposal, please contact Alicia Batailles, CRE Senior Associate Director and UROP Coordinator, at alicia.batailles@fsu.edu.
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FLORIDA-GEORGIA LOUIS STOKES ALLIANCE FOR MINORITY PARTICIPATION IN STEM (FGLSAMP) APPLICATIONS ARE DUE AUGUST 31, 2021 |
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The Florida Georgia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (FGLSAMP) in Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM) was founded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The Florida State University Chapter of the FGLSAMP program is part of a nationwide alliance that began in the fall of 1992. The program’s mission is to increase the number of STEM baccalaureate and graduate degrees awarded to populations historically underrepresented including African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders. FGLSAMP aids with the acclimation to the college environment, the social and academic integration of the undergraduate experience, and the engagement in research and internship opportunities. For more information about FSU's Chapter, contact Alicia Batailles
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CRE RESOURCES, EVENTS, AND UPDATES FOR THE UPCOMING SEMESTER |
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FALL 2021 RESEARCH ADVISING |
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CRE provides general research advising to help you get started on your research journey at FSU and to connect you with relevant campus partners.
Our Fall 2021 Drop-In Advising Hours will open soon! Times and links to register will be updated at the link at the bottom. Once you click on the link, there will be instructions on how to register. We look forward to helping you find your passion in research!
Please contact David Advent at david.advent@fsu.edu with any questions. You can also email David to schedule a general advising appointment.
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SAVE THE DATE FOR THE PRESIDENT'S SHOWCASE OF UNDERGRADUATE RESEARCH EXCELLENCE AND IDEA GRANT INFO SESSIONS |
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Our annual President's Showcase of Undergraduate Research Excellence will be held later in the semester on Wednesday, October 6, 2021, tentatively from 5:30 to 8! Sponsored by the Office of the President and the Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement (CRE), the Showcase is the culmination of the IDEA Grant summer research experience. At the Showcase, award winners share their research and creative projects through poster and oral presentations. We're hoping to be back in person for the 2021 President's Showcase after over a year of virtual events, so stay tuned for more information on our website below!
The IDEA Grants are a reflection of the University's and donor's commitment to developing students as scholars and innovators and are a testament to the stimulating education undergraduates receive at Florida State. These students' projects share in the University's mission of nurturing independent thinkers, who are learning to create solutions that enrich both our campus and our larger communities.
With the IDEA Grants, we will also be hosting info session in the fall about applying for an IDEA Grant! Applications for those grants will be due February 1, 2022. You can read more about the IDEA Grants here: https://cre.fsu.edu/undergradresearch/ideagrants
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UPDATES ON GLOBAL PROGRAMMING |
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We're excited to share that we've revamped some elements of our Global programming! We're expanding the reach of our global programming by making it more accessible, inclusive, and experiential. And with these changes, we will be recruiting for our Global Scholars cohort starting in September, so be sure to check out our websites below for that information. We're excited for you to see our new programs! |
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FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA |
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CRE SPOTLIGHTS WANTS TO FEATURE YOUR NEWS!
We are constantly amazed by what our current students and alumni are working on, so share your success stories with us to be featured in our monthly newsletter and weekly social media posts. Fill out this form to share your news!
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Engaging students in research, innovation, and scholarship is the hallmark of a great research university. Through this engagement, students become better thinkers, innovators, and problem solvers, cultivating a depth of understanding needed to make a positive difference in the world. |
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