Reason for Joining BEACoN

"As a first generation student myself, a university environment can be a challenging one to navigate.  I was blessed to have a lot of support and I look forward to sharing that with others."

Research Interests:

•  the recruitment, professional growth and retention of quality agriculture teachers
• the experiences of first generation students
• the perspectives of underserved and underrepresented populations in agricultural education

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I wan to help build a broader and more inclusive community -- regardless of position/situation at Cal Poly"

Research Interests:

• Teaching
• Organic Agriculture
• Water Issues
• Immigration Issues

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I felt the struggle of being a first generation college student. I now teach beginning design and 2nd year practice in the same department I graduated 10 years ago. I think my experience can be of help in mentoring students facing similar challenges"

Research Interests:

• Residential Design
• Cultural Institutions
• Drawing as a mode of Thinking and Representation
• Construction Documentation, Permitting, and Detailing Anthropometry

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I have been teaching the 1st quarter intro bio course for freshmen bio majors. While I have generally seen many of them succeed, some have not. Since success in the 1st quarter can translate to success throughout college, I'd like to help these students succeed. In addition, I have lived in Latin America for many years and I am fluent in Spanish, so I may be particularly helpful for students from multicultural backgrounds."

Research Interests:

• Marine Ecology
• Marine Conservation 

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I am very interested in becoming a BEACoN mentor because I would like to help promote more underrepresented Cal Poly students that are interested in pursuing careers in health professions."

Research Interests:

• Anatomy & Physiology

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I am a first generation college graduate.  I have personal experience with having serious financial impediments to attending school and would like to give back to those who might also be facing similar hardships.  In addition, I believe that a diverse student population is a healthy one and would like to help however I can to promote retention of underrepresented students, as I feel that we have issues here at Cal Poly with campus climate and support of underrepresented students."

Research Interests:

• Immunology
• Virology
• Pre-health professionals
• Public Health

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"Interacting with students is one of my favorite parts of this job! I am very supportive of the idea of providing more mentorship and guidance to students. I think all of our students have the potential to succeed here, but some of them need more help. I think Cal Poly is a welcoming and comfortable place for many students but not all; I would like to be part of this program as a way to try to improve the atmosphere and sense of community for all students."

Research Interests:

• Biology Education
• Development and regeneration in colonial ascidians
• Algal lysis with pulsed electric fields for biofuel applications

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I was an undergraduate at Cal Poly and know first hand what the student experience is like.  I now have professional experience at Poly and some cultural capital that I would love to share with students. In particular, I enjoy engaging students in research in ecology and evolution and working towards a diverse workforce that is empathetic and cross-culturally competent"

Research Interests:

• Evolution (Molecular and Organismal)
• Population Ecology
• Conservation Biology
• Population Genetics

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I think that I could help encourage students to be successful at Cal Poly. "

Research Interests:

• IN/A

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I believe it is important for students who are under represented in STEM to have mentors that they can identify with. While I myself am Caucasian, my daughter is African American and I am highly aware of the lack of diversity in my field and some of the issues that under represented students face to overcome the barriers to success. I want to be a part of helping to promote diversity in my field and to help students of diverse backgrounds succeed."

Research Interests:

• Marine Ecology & Conservation

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I was a first generation college student, and I realize in retrospect that the college I attended invested time and resources into helping their first generation students succeed.  I still keep in touch with several of those professors, and they have continued to serve as mentors to me.  I want to be that mentor for students here at Cal Poly to help them succeed."

Research Interests:

• Cell signaling
• Genetics
• Mammalian cell culture
• Molecular Biology 
• Epigenetics
• Gender, Race, Culture, Science & Technology

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"NA"

Research Interests:

•  ineterests

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I have always felt as if it was my responsibility as a first generation college student myself. The mentoring of women and people of color was the topic of my masters thesis, so it is a commitment I hold dear."

Research Interests:

•  Racialized Gender Identity 
• African-American Studies 
• Race, Culture and Schooling

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"In the past, I have had people who informally were mentors and they (without probably realizing it) had such a positive impact on me and guiding me toward my future. I may not be the perfect mentor, but I think I've been around the block within academia that I could offer insight, perspective, and support for a student or others."

Research Interests:

•  Race/Ethnicity in US
• Cultural Studies
• Asian American Studies
• Public & Oral History 

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"While not officially "out" as an undergrad, I benefited immensely from faculty who knew me better than I knew myself, yet who knew that what I needed most was someone to listen.  They helped me to discover that I could not only survive hatred and rejection, but thrive in spite of or perhaps because of it.  I've also been "teaching" since junior high, as a result of my rural southern school's short-lived program for self-directed exploration and learning.  And from that time onward I never ever wanted to do anything else once I realized how the mutual exchange of ideas can enrich, heal, and liberate even amidst the most unfavorable circumstances.  Finally, thanks to a handful of teachers in my own life, the desire for social justice, in its broadest sense, informs every class I teach and every research project I pursue.  Indeed, it is the primary lens through which I see my world.  I'd especially like to help other LGBTQIA individuals find their own self worth, self confidence, passions, and purpose as well, although my door is open to everyone."

Research Interests:

•  Modern Social and Cultural History
• Cultural Studies

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"My ultimate goal is to empower students to take responsibility for their experiences in the classroom."

Research Interests:

•  Intersection of Psychology & Sociology in sports and Physical Activity

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I went through some struggles as an undergraduate and, initially. as a graduate student that could have been avoided if I had had a mentor. I have deep experience with mentoring, as founding director of Antioch College's Academic Support Center, which provided programming for multiple types of students (students with disabilities, students from educationally impoverished backgrounds, first-generation students, LGBTQ students, etc.). At New Mexico State University, I continued mentoring students from these groups, as well as veterans returning from war theaters and previously-homeless students. I enjoy and grow from mentoring. I believe that, after a year, I now know this campus and area well enough to be able to mentor. 
FYI - I am a first-generation college student on my mother's side and she is first-generation in the US. My father was a first-generation college student only because of the VA Grants; he described this experience as "kind of going to college," as his focus was on trying to develop his career as a professional musician. I therefore have some first-hand understanding of the needs of these students and work well with them, whatever their heritage background.​"

Research Interests:

•  Community Engagement
• Professional Development

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"As a first generation college student, I wish that I had a trusted, knowledgeable, and accessible mentor who could help me with my academic, career, and life decisions.  I hope to use my experience to help other first generation college students achieve academic, professional, and personal success.​"

Research Interests:

• Nano-materials
• Environmental Sustainability
• Materials Characterization

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I am the first of my family to attend college. As a Latina in mathematics, I can relate to some students with a similar background who may need guidance in terms of college success.​"

Research Interests:

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I strongly believe that as an academic, I am not only responsible for disseminating knowledge, but also for caring and taking an active role in student welfare.​"

Research Interests:

• Fractal Geometry

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"STEM fields, especially engineering, have difficulty recruiting and sometimes retaining those from under-represented fields.  Sometimes retention issues can be due to students feeling that their professors do not take an interest in them.  This program can help to solve this problem."

Research Interests:

•  Biomechanics
• Aerospace Physiology
• Engineering Education

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I was born in New Mexico and have spent a good deal of my life living in Spain and Latin America.  I can think of times when I felt "far from home," and I can imagine my students experience similar bouts of isolation.  It might help if there were someone who spoke the language, ate the food, sang the songs, and identified with the culture of some of our students.  If I could be a friendly face, a sort of "uncle," it would be wonderful.  As it is, many students hang out during office hours already, because they feel welcome.​"

Research Interests:

•  Colonial Era Latin American Music
• Popular Music & Folk Music in Latin America

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I am committed to the idea that institutional racism/sexism/classism in our society can be addressed not just by policy but also by person-to-person authentic connection.​"

Research Interests:

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"To better understand and support the current study body. To share my experiences as a woman of color in physics with the aim of helping those now coming up."

Research Interests:

• Astronomy and Astrophysics
• The formation and Evolution of Brightest Cluster Galaxies
• Galaxies in Cluster Cores and in Filaments​​

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"I would like to increase the diversity on campus overall and specifically I would like to increase the diversity in Physics. Interpersonal relationships are very powerful in supporting underrepresented students and increasing the likelihood of them continuing on. I, myself, was the lucky recipient of faculty reaching out and mentoring me while I was an undergraduate student at Cal Poly in Physics. While none of those mentors were women their sincere support and presence kept me in the major and ultimately changed the course of my life. Which is a main reason I came back to Cal Poly to do the same for other women and underrepresented groups in Physics. I want to acknowledge, encourage and empower them in Physics and in their life."

Research Interests:

•  Nanophysics
• ​Neuroscience

Reason for Joining BEACoN 

"As a woman in Physics and as an immigrant I know a little bit of what it is like to feel like a fish out of water. 
I was delighted to hear about this program and would love to do something to help these students.​"

Research Interests:

•  Theoritical & Experimental Study of ZnO Nanowire Growth

Reason for Joining BEACoN

"As a second generation college student, I see how different my path has been in comparison to my father's first generation experience.

Research Interests:

• Intersection of Positive Psychology and Multiculturalism
• Multicultural Education 
• Hope and Well-being
• Biracial Identity Development