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威胁至关重要，如水、能源和粮食短缺，以及在下个世纪减轻自然灾害。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，而且该领域还难以跟上不断变化的国家人口结构的步伐。在所有STEM领域中，地球科学的种族多样性最小，拉美裔只占3%，这表明地球科学领域拉美裔学生的入学率处于历史低位是一个明显的后果。德克萨斯大学格兰德河谷分校(UTRGV)拥有迅速发展的环境与地球科学(EES)专业，是美国第二大拉美裔服务机构，拥有约29,000名学生(约90%是西班牙裔)。UTRGV位于与墨西哥接壤的国际边界上的战略位置，以及其创建原则，使其成为培养来自南得克萨斯州和其他地区的地球科学家的理想中心。UTRGV的“GP-Extra：激励拉美裔参与地球科学(SHIP-GEO)”的目标是为减少未来十年预计的美国地球科学劳动力短缺做出贡献，并增加拉美裔参与。SHIP-GEO的目标是在五年内(超过NSF资助的两年)将环境和地球科学项目的年度毕业生人数翻一番。这些目标正在通过举办面向招生和留住学生的活动来实现，同时建立学生和校友的指导网络。校友导师正在帮助指导学生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，具体目标是招收和留住地球科学方面的学生；(2)提高社区对地球系统的认识；(3)引导社区大学生和高中生从事地球科学事业；以及(4)让本科生接触研究，作为进入研究生院的途径。这些目标正在通过以下方式实现：将本科专业与在学生感兴趣的领域工作的校友配对；通过实地考察、客座演讲和一年一度的校友职业日，鼓励社区大学生进入UTRGV的EES项目；通过吸引学生参与正在进行的项目来扩大本科研究机会。该项目还将在三年内向五组学生颁发50个奖学金。SHIP-GEO通过吸引、支持拉美裔学生并为德克萨斯州南部的地球科学职业做准备，为NSF增加地球科学渠道的多样性的目标做出了贡献，并有望成为美国培养高质量拉美裔地球科学家的最著名项目之一。

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.