| Description | Wednesday, November 17, 3:30-5pm
Thanks to our two speakers covering two great presentations! Presentation 1
STEM Public Outreach Team (SPOT): Impact on the Persistence of Diverse STEM Students presented by Dr Joey Key and Dr. Linda Simonsen
The University of Washington Bothell (UWB) STEM Public Outreach Team (SPOT) trains undergraduate students to bring presentations about current STEM research topics to regional community colleges, K-12 schools, and community groups. The UW Center for Evaluation and Research for STEM Equity (CERSE) evaluates the experiences of the UWB SPOT Student Ambassadors in order to identify and research factors that contribute to persistence in STEM for underrepresented groups. The SPOT program contributes to connections across campus and in the community, using community outreach to support belonging and motivation for STEM students.
Presentation 2
Networks in Action: How Students Create and Mobilize Social Capital During College Transitions by Dr. Joe Ferrare
The importance of social networks in modern society is widely taken for granted. This is especially true in education and the labor market, where access to competitive colleges and jobs requires particular types of network ties and structures. Previous research has confirmed that college students’ social networks serve as the primary mechanism through which they seek academic and career-oriented support. However, far less is known about how students’ networks actually form within the organizational spaces of institutions of higher education, and the ways that racial, class, and other social dynamics shape these processes. Transitions into and out of college represent key moments to observe these processes and intersecting constraints of network formation, as this is when students must create and mobilize their networks to flourish in unfamiliar organizational contexts (e.g., a new campus or job).
This presentation reports preliminary findings from two studies that have sought to advance knowledge of these processes. The first study involved longitudinal interviews with first-generation college students as they transitioned from high school to college at a large research institution in the Southeast. The second utilizes cross-sectional survey and interview data collected from a smaller pilot study involving graduating seniors at a small public university in the Pacific Northwest. The findings underscore the central role that campus organizations and space play in creating a “snowball effect” of social capital accumulation. However, these process are often disrupted by financial constraints and experiences of racism in the spaces where students form the initial social ties that lead to this momentum. Implications for university programs, student’s career trajectories, and future research will be discussed.
Husky Highlights is a seminar series meeting several times a quarter to feature UW Bothell faculty and staff who are making advances in research, scholarship and creative practice. These events are provided virtually and open to the public. Each speaker will present for about 20 minutes with a 10 minute Q&A section afterward. Recordings may be available, depending on speaker preference.
Students are encouraged to come and meet faculty researchers they could potentially collaborate with in the future.
Registration for Zoom link is required for this free event: www.uwb.edu…
Contact Sarah Verlinde-Azofeifa severlin@uw.edu with questions |
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