GP-EXTRA: Stimulating Hispanic Participation in the Geosciences (SHIP-GEO)

地球科学对于理解和解决关键的全球性威胁至关重要，如水、能源和粮食短缺，以及在未来世纪减轻自然灾害。然而，美国的地球科学劳动力不仅在未来十年面临严重短缺，而且该领域还在努力跟上不断变化的国家人口结构。在所有STEM领域中，地球科学的种族多样性最少，西班牙裔仅占3%，这表明西班牙裔学生在地球科学领域的入学率历史上很低。德克萨斯大学格兰德河谷分校（UTRGV）的环境和地球科学（EES）项目发展迅速，是美国第二大西班牙裔服务机构，拥有约29，000名学生（约90%为西班牙裔）。UTRGV的战略位置沿着与墨西哥的国际边界，以及它的成立原则，使它成为一个理想的枢纽，培养来自南德克萨斯州和超越地球科学家.“GP-EXTRA：刺激西班牙裔参与地球科学（SHIP-GEO）”在UTRGV的目标是有助于减少美国地球科学劳动力短缺预测未来十年，并增加西班牙裔参与. SHIP-GEO的目标是在五年内（超过NSF支持的两年）将环境和地球科学计划的毕业生人数增加一倍。这些目标正在通过举办面向学生招聘和保留的活动来实现，同时建立一个学生和校友的指导网络。校友导师正在帮助指导学生在他们的职业生涯和未来的成功。该项目有四个目标：（1）发展UTRGV现有的EES计划，具体目标是招募和留住地球科学学生;（2）提高社区对地球系统的认识;（3）引导社区大学和高中学生进入地球科学职业;（4）让本科生接触研究，作为进入研究生院的途径。这些目标正在通过实现：配对本科专业与校友谁是在学生感兴趣的领域工作;鼓励社区学院的学生通过实地考察，演讲嘉宾，并每年校友职业日到EES程序转移到UTRGV;并通过让学生参与正在进行的项目扩大本科研究的机会。该项目还将在三年内向五批学生颁发50份奖学金。SHIP-GEO通过吸引，支持和准备西班牙裔学生在南德克萨斯州的地球科学职业生涯，为NSF增加地球科学管道多样性的目标做出了贡献，预计将成为全国最知名的生产优质西班牙裔地球科学家的计划之一。

Geoscience is vital to understanding and solving crucial global threats such as shortages of water, energy and food, and mitigating natural hazards in the coming century. However, the geoscience workforce in the US is facing not only a serious shortage for the coming decade, but the field struggles to keep pace with the changing national demographics. Of all of the STEM fields, geoscience has the least ethnic diversity, with Hispanics accounting for only ~3%, suggesting a clear consequence of the historically low enrollment of Hispanic students in geoscience fields. The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV), with its rapidly growing Environmental and Earth Sciences (EES) program, is the nation's second-largest Hispanic-serving institution with ~29,000 students (~90% Hispanic). UTRGV's strategic location along the international border with Mexico, as well as its founding principles, make it an ideal hub to nurture geoscientists from South Texas and beyond.The goals of "GP-EXTRA: Stimulating Hispanic Participation in the Geosciences (SHIP-GEO)" at UTRGV are to contribute to reducing the US geoscience workforce shortage predicted for the coming decade and to increase Hispanic participation. SHIP-GEO aims to double, within five years (two years beyond NSF support), the annual number of graduates from the Environmental and Earth Sciences program. These goals are being achieved by hosting activities geared toward student recruitment and retention while building a mentoring network of students and alumni. The alumni mentors are helping to direct the students in their career and future success. The project has four objectives: (1) grow the existing EES program at UTRGV with the specific aim to recruit and retain students in geoscience; (2) increase community awareness of Earth systems; (3) guide community college and high school students into geoscience careers; and (4) expose undergraduate students to research as a path to graduate school. These objectives are being achieved through: pairing undergraduate majors with alumni who are working in the field of interest of the student; encouraging the transfer of community college students into the EES program at UTRGV through field trips, guest speakers, and an annual alumni career day; and expanding undergraduate research opportunities by engaging students in ongoing projects. The project also is awarding fifty scholarships to five cohorts of students over three years. SHIP-GEO contributes to the NSF's goal of increasing diversity in the geoscience pipeline by attracting, supporting and preparing Hispanic students for careers in geosciences in South Texas, and is expected to become one of the best-known programs in the nation for producing quality Hispanic geoscientists.