Left to right: Associate professor Kodjo Adabra, Gaetan Jean Louis ’25, Assistant Professor Olaocha Nwabara, and Yarold (Yaro) Bautista Martinez ’23 (SUNY Geneseo photo/Matt Burkhartt).
Two Geneseo student-faculty research mentor teams have been chosen for the 2022 Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR) advocacy program Scholars Transforming Through Research (STR).
Gaetan Jean Louis ’25 of Rexford, NY, a sociology and psychology double major with a minor in Spanish, and mentor Kodjo Adabra, associate professor in global languages and cultures; and Yarold (Yaro) Bautista Martinez ’23 of Bay Shore, NY, a sustainability studies and women’s and gender studies double major, and mentor Olaocha Nwabara, assistant professor of English, were selected based on their excellence in undergraduate research and their understanding of the importance of advocating for this high-impact practice.
The STR program provides a six-month professional development opportunity for undergraduate students and faculty mentors to develop advocacy skills. It offers students opportunities to communicate the impact of their undergraduate research experience to a variety of stakeholder groups, such as funding agencies, association partners, elected officials, and future employers.
This semester, teams will attend an in-person skill development, advocacy training, and networking event and participate in virtual skill development and discussion sessions throughout the year. The participants will become part of CUR’s advocacy ambassadors to be called upon to meet with elected officials, write op-eds and blog posts, etc.
This year’s STR teams represent 62 institutions from 28 states, comprising 75 campus representatives and 124 undergraduate researchers.