Undergraduate Research Opportunity Center N e w s l e t t e r | M a r c h 2 0 2 0

Marching Out into the Community!

Alisal High School Outreach Project Our UROC Ambassadors have partnered with Mark Cisneros to bring research to a group of students at Alisal High School's Opportunity Program. The Opportunity Program is a branch of the district's alternative education program designed to provide on-depth schooling to a select group of students. We hope to provide these students with a leg up in their respective academic situations by facilitating fundamental, engaging, and hands-ons research. Students will receive a crash course on data collection and data analysis using a portion of the kinesiology research that's been conducted at CSUMB. Afterwards, students will dive deeper into basic botany while exploring art and culture. Students will also get an opportunity to strengthen their presentation skills through vision boards before presenting their own research projects. We hope to spark curiosity in research in higher education or long term careers at a pivotal time in their lives, where they are deciding whether or not to pursue college. By sharing our stories with the students we hope to shed light of the facts and myths about college for minority individuals as well as connect them to the majors themes in CSUMBs research: equity, sustainability, and community.

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GHS Senior Swarm! by Selena Velasquez

Several years ago, UROC Chevron Scholar and alumnus, Alexandria Cervantes developed and launched an outreach project that brings UROC students to Gonzales to offer a number of professional development services to local high school students. The goal was to create a pipeline to college. Now led by UROC McNair Scholar, Selena Velasquez, UROC continues supporting student-developed and student-facilitated workshops to the Gonzales High School Senior Swarm group. Working directly with the Gonzales Youth Council, a group of UROC students, presented to graduating seniors in late-February about transitioning into college. Through a series of activities and discussions, the group explored how to best navigate the emotions that come with college, denials and acceptances, and considerations to keep in mind during the decision-making process. Each of the UROC students shared their experiences in what they factored in when applying to college and what brought them to CSUMB. Having shared their stories of “rejection”, the group developed coping strategies and learned ways to remain positive in the face of adversity. Other scholars like Selina Espinoza, GHS class of 2011, and Brandon Garcia utilized their experiences of being transfer students and commuting to school while Victoria Assad, Lauren Kashiwabara, and Selena shared the benefits of living on-campus. Finally, the group learned some effective strategies when searching for scholarships and learned of several offered in Monterey County. In addition to gaining different perspectives on the transition to college, the Gonzales seniors walked away with new CSUMB/UROC connections and hopefully a positive outlook as they enter the next stage of their life. The next UROC workshop at Gonzales High School will was scheduled for April 1 will most likely be cancelled. It was set to on focus on enhancing resume building skills and strengthening interviewing skills.

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Talking to Employers

Talking to employers can be a scary to think about. They hold a lot of power and can determine your fate. But it's also important to remember that they are just people wanting to connect. The easiest way to connect with an employer is by showing them that you have a clear understanding of what it means to work in their space. In this CUR article based on writings from Jenny Olin Shanahan, it specifies that for researchers, it means showcasing proficiency in the following areas: written communication, critical thinking and analysis, applying knowledge to real-work problems, ethical decision making, and oral communication. Here are the big take aways from each area: To show your written communication skills , consider finishing every research project with a writing sample (manuscript, poster, presentation proposal). Be able to describe how your product conveys complex messages to a given audience. To display your critical thinking and analysis abilities , be able to discuss situations in which you were faced with an obstacle and how you overcame that obstacle. This is a frequent question among employers across all disciplines. To show that you can apply your knowledge to real-world problems , know the broader impact of your work. Are you filling a gap? Making a change? Challenging a norm? To show that you have the ability to work effectively in teams , emphasized the ways you contributed to the successes of a group project. Always have a specific example in mind and tell it as a story. To display the ability to make ethical decisions , make sure you maintain professionalism. Keep confidential parts of the research confidential, know the legal standards and precedent for your research. To showcase your oral communication skills, refer to any presentations that you may have done regarding your research. Evidence is key so provide visuals as well as discuss any awards that you may have received.

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Covid-19

As the university continues monitoring and taking direction from public health experts in assessing the evolving situation of COVID-19, we encourage of all members of our community to continue treating one another with compassion and respect. We also urge you stay aware by regularly visiting the CSUMB COVID-19 webpage . For now, the UROC summer program will continue as planned; Scholars should continue with research planning until further notice while the Researcher summer program will continue receiving applications through April 27. The campus leadership will be reevaluating the situation in mid-April, at which time things may change one way or another. In anticipation of the possibility that the campus decides to limit travel off-campus in the summer, all of us at UROC are currently working hard with faculty to develop appropriate alternate summer research activities on or around campus for interested students. Stay safe and healthy!

*Mentor Spotlight* . Dr. Meng-Hsien (Jenny) Lin is an Assistant Professor in the College of Business. She studies individual differences in sensory (olfaction, haptic, visual) perceptions and its impact on consumer decision making and consumer well-being outcomes using a combination of surveys, behavioral experiments, neuroscience methods and in-depth interviews. Her other research interests involve understanding children’s cognitive and emotional processing of online advertising and the influence of social media with the focus of empowering parents (mothers in particular) through understanding their use of social media. Dr. Lin’s work has been published in European Journal of Marketing, Journal of Advertising, Journal of Consumer Affairs and other outlets.

*Student Spotlight* .

Frederick Siglar is a fourth-year psychology major and UROC researcher. Originally from San Diego, California, Freddy has assisted in conducting research under the mentorship of Dr. Jennifer Lovell of the Psychology Department. His most recent research focuses on the potential benefits of adding outdoor wellness spaces to the CSUMB campus. In collaboration with CSUMB's Campus Planning Department and the Suicide Prevention Coordinator, Freddy’s research received an achievement award in the 2019 Fall Showcase Research Competition. His team’s efforts have also been referenced in a proposal for adding a community park to the Northern Oak Woodland Area of CSUMB. Freddy now plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology allowing him to open his own practice.

Events and Resources

*Changes Due to COVID-19* Spring Showcase and Undergraduate Research Week - Rescheduled for Fall 2020 CSU Research Competition @ CSU East Bay- Cancelled All UROC Workshops - cancelled until further notice *if there was a particular workshop that you are interested in, don't hesitate to contact us about the topic or materials. There are plenty of online resources available to you. Check out UCLA online workshops free for to take advantage of.

Chat with us! Want to get involved in research but don't know where to start? Set up a virtual consultation on the UROC website! Set up a Consultation

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