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Current: The Journal of Marine Education
Activities and Program Models
Abstract
Summer research experiences are often life-changing for first generation high school students of color, especially in the marine biology field. The University of Southern California (USC) Leslie and Bill McMorrow Neighborhood Academic Initiative (USC NAI) partners with STEM professionals, laboratory scientists, local marine-based field sites, marine educators, and laboratory managers to facilitate hands-on, inquiry-based research and learning experiences for the high school students that participate in their program. These partnerships collaborate with instructors to deliver an ocean research methods course to the students. The learning goals of the course include providing the foundational scientific skills needed to succeed in the STEM workforce and learning about various marine related careers. As a result of the ocean research methods course and other STEM interventions with USC NAI, 42% of NAI grads who have gone to USC have declared a STEM major as freshmen since 2013.
Introduction
The nexus of racial and economic segregation has intensified educational gaps between affluent and low-income students, and between white students and students of color (Meato, 2019). The educational divide limits economic advancement and professional opportunities and denies people of color from lower socioeconomic income brackets access to highly specialized fields such as marine biology, conservation biology, and SCUBA diving (Scott, 2020). To diversify marine science and policy and conservation institutions, then we must address the educational barriers and exclusionary practices upheld in these fields for people of color (Scott, 2020). Recent data from the most recent National Science Foundation report on Women, Minorities and Persons with Disabilities (2016)
finds that out of the 620,489 total enrolled science and engineering graduate student population, only 36 (0.1%)
For the second year, the Bridge Builders Foundation visited Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego as part of the foundation’s marine science program for high school students.
Thirty-five high school students were selected from 100 applicants to participate in the five-day ocean science program at Scripps Oceanography from Aug. 7-11. During their visit, students lived in UC San Diego college dorms, participated in activities related to Scripps Oceanography science and research, and learned about academic and science career opportunities directly from professionals at Scripps Oceanography and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The program and activities were organized in partnership with Scripps and Birch Aquarium at Scripps.
“The partnership with Bridge Builders highlights the inclusive and immersive experiences Scripps, Birch Aquarium and UC San Diego are committed to providing as a means of increasing access to science and education in ways that are culturally-relevant and impactful for communities of color,” said Scripps Director of Diversity Initiatives Keiara Auzenne.
Bridge Builders is a nonprofit organization based out of Los Angeles that seeks to remove barriers of race, poverty, ignorance and despair through youth mentoring and educational support since 1988. Its programming and college readiness mentoring is intended to help youth of color achieve their full potential and succeed in all areas of life.
According to the president of the Bridge Builders Foundation, James Breedlove, the name “Bridge Builders” comes from a poem titled “The Bridge Builder” written by Will Allen Dromgoole. This poem serves to remind people of the bridges people have built, not for themselves, but for others.
This summer program at Scripps Oceanography is designed to help bridge the socioeconomic gap in STEM education. Youth in the program are exposed to a broad range of possibilities in higher education and careers that
Dijanna Figueroa is one of Internship program gives students an inside look at working in marine science, technology, and communications
Pictured above: Ellen Jacobs at work during her 2016 summer internship.
Spending a summer on an ocean-research project, developing a new instrument for collecting deep-sea samples, and writing science news stories are among the experiences that have proven to be life-changing for many of MBARI’s summer interns. The primary goals of the 10-week paid internship are to provide a unique educational experience for the intern and contribute to the general good of the oceanographic community.
Why it matters
Students are immersed in projects and the daily operations of a research institute, gaining valuable experience that helps steer their careers or future education.
In the 23 years since its inception, the MBARI Summer Internship Program has hosted some 340 undergraduate and graduate students and educators. The program has grown to host as many as 21 interns for the summer program, offering a wide range of potential projects in science, engineering, communications, and education. Rather than focusing on a particular discipline, the program aims to help interns discover what research is really about and where their interests might lie.
Overall, the internship raised more questions than it answered, but they were questions that I never thought of asking. – Intern evaluation response
MBARI’s internship program is open to undergraduates, graduate students, and educators. It attracts more than 250 applicants a year from all over the world, and draws on the support of the entire institution as projects and mentors come from all areas of MBARI.
Related
MBARI interns come from across the country and the globe. To date, interns have hailed from 38 states and the District of Columbia as well as from Australia, Brazil, Canada, England, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Scotland, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, a
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