The University of the Virgin Islands-led project, “Supporting Emerging Aquatic Scientists (SEAS) Your Tomorrow,” was chosen out of 36 grants distributed across the country to be featured in the National Science Foundation (NSF)’s Inclusion across the Nation of Communities of Learners of Underrepresented Discoverers in Engineering and Science (INCLUDES): Envisioning Impact Video Showcase. The University of the Virgin Islands (UVI), along with Pennsylvania State University, Southern Utah University and local partners, was recently awarded a $300,000 grant from NSF to encourage more students in the U.S. Virgin Islands to engage in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
The goal of the NSF INCLUDES: Envisioning Impact Program (http://includes2017.videohall.com/) is to broaden participation in STEM by creating more pathways through which young people can join the STEM fields. A video showcase will be hosted online from March 20 – 27. To view and comment on the SEAS Your Tomorrow video, which focuses on known drop-out points for students in science, visit http://videohall.com/p/826. During this week, visitors to the site will be able to offer their thoughts and feedback about the project.
“This is a high impact project, and it is exciting that it is being featured on the national stage,” said Kristin Wilson Grimes, principal investigator and assistant professor of Watershed Ecology at UVI. “Not only is the project taking place here in the Virgin Islands, but it also involves the ocean sciences, which are so vital to this community. SEAS Your Tomorrow will create educational opportunities for V.I. youth, which will open pathways to careers in the ocean sciences.”
SEAS Your Tomorrow is funded by the NSF INCLUDES Program, which provides two years of support for projects that describe new ideas, create targeted initiatives, and forge new models that will improve access to STEM for underserved populations. SEAS Your Tomorrow provides the territory’s middle school, high school, early undergraduate and graduate students with support and unique opportunities to pursue their interests in the ocean sciences. The project also builds partnerships between universities, government agencies, non-profit organizations, local businesses and professional societies to maximize the impact of targeted activities.
For more information about SEAS Your Tomorrow, visit http://www.seasyourtomorrow.org/ or contact Dr. Kristin Wilson Grimes at Kristin.wilson@uvi.edu.
