Biology and Environmental Science Scholars Program to Support Achievement and Persistence in STEM

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With funding from the NSF Scholarships in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (S-STEM) program, this project will support high-achieving, low-income students with demonstrated financial need at Chaminade University of Honolulu. Throughout its five years of funding, this project will provide 18 scholarships to students who are pursuing bachelor's degrees in Biology or Environmental Science. This project will provide these Scholars with culturally relevant STEM education around the theme of island resilience and sustainability and support their academic achievement and persistence in STEM. The project aims to develop a cohort of graduates who are prepared to enter the workforce in STEM disciplines connected to regional needs.The goals of the project are to: 1) mitigate students' financial and academic barriers to STEM participation; 2) acknowledge and address cultural barriers to students' STEM participation; and 3) develop and evaluate new curricular and extracurricular activities that reflect students' needs, challenges, strengths, and cultural expectations. The knowledge gained through this project will enhance understanding of culturally-grounded curricular and academic support approaches to enhance student success. Faculty mentors will provide Scholars with academic support, life coaching, and advocacy. Scholars will participate in academic enrichment activities including tutoring, intensive advising, academic monitoring, academic crisis mitigation, and cohort learning communities. Scholars will have research internship opportunities focused on water sustainability. The project will develop activities to engage Scholars' families and connect to the community; these activities will be designed to decrease 'outsider status' and increase Scholars' sense of belonging within higher education and STEM careers. To support these goals, the project will redesign Biology and Environmental Science courses and pilot a novel 'mountain-to-ocean' four-year, culturally-based curriculum designed to increase retention, performance, cultural identity, and self-efficacy. This project will generate knowledge about student outcomes related to: (1) increasing the cultural relevance of the four-year degree process; (b) implementing and assessing blended indigenous and Western science approaches; and (c) maintaining connections to place and culture. This project aims to implement culturally-relevant, island-focused STEM educational experiences and foster collaborations among major stakeholders that include STEM faculty, campus administrators, and community leaders.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.