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. 2023 Aug 29;26(10):107766.
doi: 10.1016/j.isci.2023.107766. eCollection 2023 Oct 20.

Project Strengthen: An STEMM-focused career development workshop to prepare underrepresented minority students for graduate school

Taylor Barongan  1 , Kit Neikirk  1 , Bryanna Shao  1 , Neng Vue  1 , Elsie C Spencer  1   2 , Kinutha Kabugi  1 , Zachary Conley  3 , Larry Vang  1 , Mein Vue  1 , Nancy Vang  1 , Edgar Garza-Lopez  4 , Amber Crabtree  1 , Stefanie Alexander  1 , Angyth Dal  1 , Heather K Beasley  1 , Andrea G Marshall  1 , Mason Killion  1 , Dominique C Stephens  1   5 , Denise Martinez  6 , Caroline B Palavicino-Maggio  7 , Felysha Jenkins  8 , Jamaine Davis  9 , Steven M Damo  5 , Christina N Morra  10 , Sandra A Murray  11 , Chia Vang  1   12 , Derrick J Morton  13   14 , Zer Vue  1 , Haysetta Shuler  15 , Antentor Hinton Jr  1
Affiliations

Project Strengthen: An STEMM-focused career development workshop to prepare underrepresented minority students for graduate school

Taylor Barongan et al. iScience. .

Abstract

Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) programs are aimed to increase diversity in science, technology, engineering, math, and medicine (STEMM) fields. However, limited programs and eligibility requirements limit the students who may apply to similar programs. At Winston-Salem State University, we piloted a series of workshops, collectively termed Project Strengthen, to emulate some of the key aspects of MARC programs. Following the workshop, Project Strengthen students showed a significant increase in their understanding of essential educational development skills, such as writing personal statements, applying to graduate school, studying for the GRE, and seeking summer internships. This suggests Project Strengthen may be a potential lower cost comparable option than MARC to make up for current deficiencies in preparedness for graduate school. We also provide educational materials from Project Strengthen, including a clear framework for this seminar series, six ready-made PowerPoints to share with trainees that have been demonstrated to be effective.

Keywords: Education; Social sciences.

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Conflict of interest statement

Authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

None
Graphical abstract
Figure 1
Figure 1
Project Strengthen helps non-MARC students prepare for graduate school Non-MARC participants saw significant score increases in improving their understanding of personal statements (A), selecting recommendation writers (B), applying for professional/graduate school (C), studying for the GRE (D), networking skills (E), and applying to summer research internships (F), as compared with MARC participants. MARC participants also saw an increased score in selecting recommendation writers, studying for the GRE, and applying for summer internships. Ns represents no significance, ∗ represents p < 0.05, and ∗∗∗∗ represents p < 0.0001.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Project Strengthen helps non-MARC students gain skills necessary for graduate school Non-MARC participants saw significant score increases in their understanding of time and stress management (A), interviewing skills (B), role of a support team (C), verbal and non-verbal communication (D), and learning styles, love language, and personality (E), as compared with MARC participants. MARC participants also saw an increased score in their understanding of the role of a support team. Ns represents no significance, ∗∗ represents p < 0.01, and ∗∗∗∗ represents p < 0.0001.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Improvement in graduate school preparedness following Project Strengthen Non-MARC participants saw significant score increases in improving their preparation for (A) and learning about graduate school (B). In general, while MARC students have high pre-workshop expectations, these expectations were much lower for Non-MARC participants. Non-MARC participants also saw an increase in percived importance of the information presented (C) and how it can help them prepare for graduate school (D) following the workshop. Ns represents no significance, ∗∗∗ represents p < 0.001, and ∗∗∗∗ represents p < 0.0001.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Most frequently used words in students’ responses to Project Strengthen
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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