Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center
N e w s l e t t e r | F e b r u a r y 2 0 2 1
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Fall in Love with Research! |
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This time last year, UROC Scholars and McNair Scholars joined UROC alum Megan Solomonson for a guided hike at Mount Hermon where she was employed as an outdoor educator. As the pandemic hit a mere few weeks later, that outing stands out as the last time we would physically see each other for a long while. Despite that, we are all still connected by the one thing that brought us together: undergraduate research.
Nearly a year into the pandemic, UROC Scholars, McNair Scholars, Researchers, and now Koret Scholars continue making an impact on our campus, within their fields and in their community. And we look forward to hearing about their further contributions.
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On February 24, 1986, a congressional resolution declared that Saturday, February 28, 1986, should be designated as "National TRIO Day" to commemorate the annual achievements of the Federal TRIO programs in communities across the country. Since then, the TRIO community has reserved the fourth Saturday in February as National TRIO Day. We want to celebrate alongside the CSUMB TRIO Program by sharing a few words from Associate Director, Kyrstie Lane, and highlighting TRIO students who have also participated in UROC program (including the McNair Scholars program, part of the suite of federal TRIO programs).
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In the last few years, I’ve found myself writing recommendations to prestigious graduate programs, fellowships, and research opportunities beyond anything I considered applying to when I was in college. Each of these letters is special because I remember our first generation, low-income TRIO SSS students when they arrived on campus: when they didn't know how to register for classes, were intimidated to talk to faculty, and were questioning whether they belonged in higher education at all. "I know people think I can’t do it." "I feel so lost."
As more TRIO students have gotten involved with UROC, they’ve proven what huge benefits research experiences can have for under-represented scholars. Seeing the transformation never gets old: from grappling with imposter syndrome and doubts, to getting vulnerable and putting themselves out there ("I guess I might as well apply"), to the excitement of contributing their research and voices to their field, all the way to the confidence of knowing they deserve funded graduate programs and fellowships! The path isn't linear, of course, but our students bring resilience and persistence to everything they do. It's about much more than the academic research: we see these students growing exponentially in their confidence, leadership, and goals. In addition, they overwhelmingly turn these experiences into something that will benefit their communities, whether through the research itself or through their eagerness to mentor others.
This National TRIO Day, we’re thanking UROC for the awesome opportunities they provide, and reminding our students that we’re incredibly proud of them!
Kyrstie Lane
Associate Director
TRIO Student Support Services & TRIO Student Support Services STEM-HS
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List of TRIO SSS and SSS STEM-HS students who also participate /
have participated in UROC
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Robert Hays
McNair Scholar
Alma Leon
UROC Scholar
Maria Rocha
McNair Scholar
Mariana Duarte
McNair Scholar
Arturo Munoz
Researcher
Elizabeth Reyes Gallegos Researcher
Alexsa Rivera
Researcher
Nathalie Solorzano
Researcher
Amaris Lopez
Researcher
Citlali Gonzalez Researcher
Karla Jasso
Researcher
Andrea Soto
Researcher
Bryan Sierra-Rivera
McNair Scholar
Aileen San
Researcher
Seaenna Correa-Garcia
Researcher
Selena Romero
Researcher
Andrew Stuck
Researcher
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Daniel Olivares
McNair Scholar
Nicole Cortes
Researcher
Nery Gonzalez
Researcher
Esmeralda Ochoa-Villicaña
Researcher
Alyssa Riley
Researcher
Gabriel Chavez
Researcher
Jesus Sanchez Orozco
McNair Scholar
Emily Beasley
McNair Scholar
Darchelle Burnett
Koret Scholar
Emilia Lepe
McNair Scholar
Rebekah Newman
Researcher
Alexandria Cervantes
McNair Scholar
Juan Cueto
Researcher
Cecilia Garcia
McNair Scholar
Juan Cerda
McNair Scholar
Kayla Marshall
Researcher
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Leslie Maldonado
McNair Scholar
Itzel Godinez
Researcher
Yamilex (Ilene) Gomez
Researcher
Alyssa Herrera
Researcher
Yazmin Macias
Researcher
Leta Dawson
LSAMP Rising Researcher
Daniel Pureco
LSAMP
Daisy Camarena
LSAMP
Tamirah Gallaread
LSAMP
Anthony Miller
LSAMP
Clarissa Hernandez
LSAMP
Julia Jimenez
LSAMP
Kimberly Leon
LSAMP
Maria Teresa Hernandez
McNair Scholar
Kimberly Eleazar
Researcher
Staphany Arriola
Researcher
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TRIO and McNair Scholars at SACNAS 2016 |
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Elizabeth Reyes Gallegos presenting at SACNAS 2018 |
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TRIO and McNair Scholars Daniel Olivares and Juan Cerda at SACNAS 2018 |
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Emily Beasley presenting during TRIO Summer Academy 2018 |
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TRIO Legacy Award Recipient, Alexandria Cervantes (left) with Kyrstie Lane |
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Rebekah Newman (left) with keynote speaker at 2018 UMD McNair Conference |
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CUR Scholarship Recipients |
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Congratulations to the Humanities and Communication research team Amelia Parker, UROC & Dewar Scholar, and Jesus Sanchez Orozco, McNair Scholar, on being awarded the Division of Arts and Humanities Student Scholarship from the Council of Undergraduate Research (CUR). Amelia and Jesus, who both entered separately, won two of the four total scholarship awards given.
With the support of their CSUMB faculty mentor, Dr. Sam Robinson, School of Humanities & Communication, Amelia and Jesus continue to work together on their analysis of COVID-19 messaging on U.S. college campuses.
CUR offers funding to support undergraduate student research and creative inquiry projects at any stage of development up to and including presentation. The goal is to encourage diverse, innovative, and engaged undergraduate research in the disciplines defined by CUR as arts and humanities.
Congratulations Amelia and Jesus!
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Virtual Spring Showcase 2021 |
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The CSUMB's Research, Scholarship, & Creative Activity Showcase is a forum for undergraduate students to share their research, scholarship, and creative work within CSUMB and the surrounding community. Students, under the guidance of one or more faculty members within their department, or multiple departments for interdisciplinary projects, are eligible to submit a project to be considered for the showcase. All faculty-mentored research projects are welcomed!
This year's Showcase will consist of a week-long virtual exhibition using the platform Kunstmatrix, concluding with a live Zoom session consisting of breakout rooms with the student presenters on April 23. Stay tuned for more info!
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featuring Dr. Judith Canner, Professor of Mathematics and Statistics |
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Statistics research can take two forms - the development of new methods and the application of existing methods to new situations. I focus on the application of existing methods to new situations through model building. Recently, my interests have turned to informal model building through data visualization. As a statistician and statistics teacher, the effective communication of data underlies everything I do. In the past year, data visualization has had a massive influence on our understanding of the pandemic and its impact such as these two visualizations from the front pages of the New York Times - the unemployment numbers in April after lockdowns and the density over time of deaths in the US. But after admiring their design and effectiveness in communicating something as complex and devastating as a pandemic, I am left with a nagging question - where is the compassion?
Data and compassion are not often paired together. We tend to think of data as some neutral record of the facts, and “facts” do not need compassion to support their meaning. But is that true? Shouldn’t these visualizations communicate the humanity of our situation? I am not the first person to wonder how to find the right balance between information and compassion, fact and emotion, the statistic and the soul. I am also not the person with the answers. My research as a statistician is always collaborative and I recognize when I lack the domain knowledge to answer a question on my own. Here is where researchers in the humanities, arts, and social sciences become my new collaborators to explore the question: How do we practice compassionate communication of data? Together, maybe we can find an answer.
Dr. Canner is also the Principal Investigator on the NIH funded Big Data to Knowledge (BD2K) program at CSUMB, overseeing a special summer research program for CSUMB students from across disciplines at the UC Santa Cruz Center for Big Data in Translational Genomics, curriculum develop and redesign with an emphasis on biomedical data science across programs in the College of Science, and supporting faculty development and training in data science.
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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!
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