JSU & USFWS Partnership: Fostering Connections and Opportunities for HBCU Students
1. COMPREHENSIVE GOAL
1.1. FORMALIZE MENTORING PROCESS AND INTIATE STUDENT ASSIGNMENTS
1.1.1. ACTION ITEMS
1.1.2. Establish a mentoring team comprised of JSU and FWS staff to oversee/facilitate mentoring activities.
1.1.3. Obtain a list of students to pair with mentors from JSU staff.
1.1.4. Develop mentoring calendar based on mentor and mentee availability.
1.1.5. Implement mentoring calendar.
1.1.6. Document and track progress of mentoring program.
1.1.7. Questions
1.1.7.1. • What is needed from JSU to begin assigning students? • What is the FWS’s current process for assigning mentors? • Who is the FWS contact for mentor program needs?
1.1.7.1.1. Question --- this approach seems to put a lot of responsibility on a central USFWS mentoring outlet here at JSU, which works as long as this is the project has Marquita and/or Solomon's attention but fails to rely on the processes that it sounds like FWS already have in place for mentoring and creates a single failure point for the program. It also removes those of us who know and work with the students daily from the mentoring circle. Ideally, those of us mentoring them here at JSU would work with FWS to develop a mentoring "team" (of 2 or 3) that works with the students. BPT
2. TOP PRIORITIES
2.1. 1. Acquire information on internship and fellowship opportunities and implement formal steps to begin connecting students to opportunities
2.1.1. ACTION ITEMS
2.1.2. Obtain a list of potential opportunities.
2.1.2.1. Questions
2.1.2.2. • Are there prerequisites for Pathways internship and undergrad fellowships? • What would an ideal candidate need to secure the internship? • Are there any courses that would better prepare a potential intern?
2.1.2.2.1. The ideal candidate would have passion for conservation biology and related wildlife courses (botany, ornithology, herpetology, etc.) but we can work with talented biologist also. Pathways-Students & Recent Graduates Lastly, we can provide an overall briefing to the students on our available programs. I will just need time to coordinate with the program representatives.
2.1.3. Link students with a mentor to prepare for internship or fellowship opportunities.
2.1.4. Assist students with application process for available opportunities.
2.2. 2. Explore outreach opportunities aligned with FWS local calendar of events and interfuse JSU students
2.2.1. Secure calendar of events from FWS
2.2.1.1. • Who is the FWS point of contact to explore inclusion of JSU students for these opportunities? • What is the process to secure accommodations for JSU students? • Is there a calendar of upcoming local events available? • Are there opportunities for events outside the area that include accommodations available open for student participation? If so, who is the point of contact?
2.2.1.1.1. I will remain the point of contact for this initiative for the time being. We would need to further define "accommodations". Due to COVID-19, the Service is not conducting outreach opportunities at this time. We routinely receive event invites and there are opportunities for students to participate in. However, these events are very limited at this time. As we move forward in our development, we will identify a staff point of contact to announce these opportunities.
2.2.2. Connect students with FWS projects based on their interests.
2.2.3. Assign students to events and document participation hours.
2.3. 3. Begin course development focusing on conservation biology
2.3.1. Begin course development focusing on conservation biology.
2.3.1.1. • How often can guest lectures from FWS staff on various topics be included?
2.3.1.1.1. It would depend on staff work loads and availability. We recommend that we look for opportunities in the current curriculum and how we can augment the future conservation biology course. We would pair staff with those opportunities and schedule it in advance.
2.3.2. Discuss opportunity to have FWS staff teach the course.
2.3.3. Get ideas on how to infuse leadership conservation and policy into course information.
2.3.4. Schedule calendar of events to include a series of seminars or short workshops on different tools, concepts, or approaches that are common in FWS Ecological Services work.
2.3.5. Explore opportunities for research integration.
2.3.5.1. • Are there any research opportunities that can be done by the university? • Can students participate in small scale research projects?
2.3.5.1.1. Yes, we would need to identify those opportunities with each of our species leads to determine what research is needed to support current and future species status assessments. We know what our workload is out to 2025. We can also develop small scale projects in the local areas. We are developing a statewide aquatic species strategy with our conservation partners. We could use students to help support this strategy by sampling local areas using different sampling techniques to help determine presence.