Most students think research is something done by old men in lab coats, that it’s out of reach as they earn their undergraduate degree. 金伯利·约翰逊，教育学博士。美国正在寻求改变这种状况。
在过去的二十年里，约翰逊一直是威尼斯人娱乐城社区不可或缺的一部分，担任过各种角色。 不过，她的热情一直是帮助和支持学生，尤其是有色人种学生。 她在多元文化学生事务中的新角色让她有机会做到这一点。
“新兴研究学者 is new a program with the 威尼斯人娱乐城 多元文化学生事务办公室 that offers high-achieving, historically underrepresented students research projects in their field of study with faculty mentors,” Johnson said. “Scholars will receive academic, social and financial support while becoming integrated into the intellectual climate of the university.”
为了利用威尼斯人娱乐城学生现有的资源，约翰逊联系了本科生研究主任简·格里尔（Jane Greer），合作开发这个新的学生机会。 Through this collaboration with the 本科生研究和创意奖学金办公室, students can be matched with a faculty mentor who can best support the student in their chosen field of research. 该办公室还能够为第一批新兴研究学者的学生提供勤工俭学的职位。
“We've always tried to focus on making sure that our different opportunities serve the full range of 威尼斯人娱乐城 students, including students from historically excluded groups,” Greer said. “We were especially excited that Dr. Johnson took on this new role in the 多元文化学生事务办公室 and is working to create more ways to support these students in terms of getting them involved in research.”
提高学生对研究的兴趣和参与度首先要鼓励他们在自己感兴趣的领域进行研究。
“This is not just for medical school, you could be studying arts and sciences, law, whatever field they want to study,” Johnson said. “We're hoping that they can find a faculty member or someone here in the Kansas City community that can help them. We do have some students who are not yet paired with the faculty member because we need more faculty mentors.”
Hannah Leyva, ’24, who just declared her major in Sociology, with an emphasis in Cultural Anthropology and minors in Spanish and Urban Studies, was one such student in this first cohort.
“I was not originally paired with a faculty mentor, and although this caused some uncertainty at first, it really was beneficial,” Leyva said. “As someone who has only recently declared their major, having the opportunity to reach out to professors instead of being automatically paired allowed me to investigate what kind of research I wanted to do. It is also overall helpful, as someone who wants to continue research in graduate school, to gain that experience of taking the initiative to network.”
Earth and Environmental Sciences student Amanda Mercier, ’22, is also thriving with the new connections she has made in the program, both student and faculty.
“Being part of the Emerging Scholar's 研究 Program this semester was incredibly motivating, insightful and helpful with regards to professionalism and getting involved in research or opportunities provided by the school or community,” Mercier said. “I felt that I constantly had a team of people that had my back and were a great source of information on any subject. I learned that the things that gave me anxiety or I struggled with, I wasn't the only one and didn't feel alone anymore.”
这些对话以及由此形成的关系正是约翰逊所希望的。 她的最终目标是让新兴学者获得经验，为他们的研究生院和未来的职业生涯做好准备。
“Many of these students are just trying to get through their undergrad and are not thinking beyond,” she said. “How do we get our students, particularly students of color, thinking about grad school right now and what they need to do to prepare for it? 如果你没有为读研做好准备，这对你就业有什么帮助呢？ If they're getting exposed to it, knowing that they can do research as an undergrad, they're more prepared to apply for graduate school.”
当然，这是本科研究办公室的一个主要目标，格里尔很高兴新兴学者能够与学生建立联系，否则可能无法建立这种联系。
“As the Emerging Scholars Program continues to grow, the future is really bright,” Greer said. “Dr. Johnson’s very astutely providing a lot of social support and structures to help students who may have never had these opportunities presented to them. We serve all students, and undergraduate research is something that every student 威尼斯人娱乐城 should have an opportunity to get involved in.”
Leyva says she’s proud to be among the first cohort of this program and is grateful for the variety of opportunities the program can provide.
“What I found helpful about the 新兴研究学者 is that there is a support system to help guide you through undergraduate research,” Leyva said. “It is not only your faculty mentor, but Dr. Johnson as well, and professionals who volunteer their time for research/graduate school workshops, and even other students in the program. It really is refreshing to be surrounded by others who understand the importance of diverse representation in research.”
If you are a 威尼斯人娱乐城 faculty member interested in mentoring 新兴研究学者, please contact Kimberly Johnson at johnsonkimd@umkc.edu.