Overview
The SEISMIC Scholars opportunity is a new, paid, remote summer research internship to connect undergraduate students with SEISMIC members who are developing educational tools and conducting research to understand how to enhance equity and inclusion in large, STEM introductory courses. SEISMIC Scholars will engage in various activities over the course of the summer, including data collection and analysis, weekly professional development seminars, engaging with other SEISMIC collaborators through the SEISMIC Summer Meeting, and presenting their work.
This program will enable undergraduate students to build interdisciplinary networks with fellow students, graduate students, faculty, staff, and post-docs across SEISMIC institutions. SEISMIC Scholars will receive mentorship from the Scholar team during weekly live remote meetings and their SEISMIC advisor as they work on specific projects. The program will support students’ professional development and further the goals of current SEISMIC projects to foster a diverse STEM environment.
2023 SEISMIC Scholars Overview
Scholars
Jose Amaya Rios
he/him
University of California Davis
Junior
Major(s): Clinical Nutrition
Summer Hobbies: I like to hike waterfalls and go surfing/hang out at the beach.
SEISMIC Project: Access to Practice
Jasmine Ma
she/her
University of California Davis
Junior
Major(s): Biological Sciences
Summer Hobbies: I love to spend my summers soaking up the sun and spending time with friends and family.
SEISMIC Project: SEISMIC Commons
Karen Lin
she/hers
University of California Davis
Sophomore
Major(s): Pharmaceutical Chemistry
Summer Hobbies: Baking, gaming, and gardening
SEISMIC Project: S-STEM Program Insights
Karina Patel
she/her
University of California Davis
Junior
Major(s): Biological Sciences
Summer Hobbies: Travel with friends/family, explore new food places, and dance.
SEISMIC Project: Office Hours
Tiffany Hwang
she/her
University of California Santa Barbara
Sophomore
Major(s): Biology
Summer Hobbies: During the summer, I like to relax as much as I can by going to the beach, pool, or camping. I also like watching new movies that come out during the summer.
SEISMIC Project: Access to Practice
Zemlja Franicevic
she/her
Major(s): Psychology & Brain Science
Summer Hobbies: In the summer, when I don’t have school work, I like to keep myself busy with things that I really enjoy and otherwise don’t have much time for. This includes going to the beach, going on hikes, playing pickleball, playing guitar and occasionally traveling to Croatia to visit family!
SEISMIC Project: Syllabi Project
Glory Figueroa
she/her
Major(s): Sociology and Communications
Summer Hobbies: I love to go to the beach and shop at flea markets during the summer.
SEISMIC Project: S-STEM Program Insights
Jenny Pham
she/her
Major(s): Biological Sciences
Summer Hobbies: I love spending time with friends, sleeping, playing badminton, and shopping!
SEISMIC Project: Syllabi Project
Sarah Habib
she/her
Major(s): Biology
Summer Hobbies: Refresh myself on my past studies and enjoy quality time with my loved ones.
SEISMIC Project: Backchannel Project
Wyatt Wang
he/his
Major(s): Neurobiology, Psychology, and Behavior
Summer Hobbies: Enjoy my time away from school and begin my work for Seismic!
SEISMIC Project: Backchannel Project
Aishah Asif
Major(s):
Summer Hobbies:
SEISMIC Project: Backchannel Project
Organizing Team
Anna James
Nita Tarchinski
Sabrina Solanki
Nikeetha Farfan D’Souza
Vanessa Woods
Showcase
The 2023 SEISMIC Scholars virtual Poster Showcase took place on Thursday, August 17th, 9-11 am PT / 12-2 pm ET. SEISMIC Scholars shared about each of their projects and what they’ve accomplished during their time with the program!
Time
Scholar
Project Presentation
Poster
9:00 – 9:05 am
Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:05 – 9:15 am
Zemlja Franicevic
Syllabi Project
9:15 – 9:25 am
Sarah Habib
SEISMIC Commons: Open Access Resources
9:25 – 9:35 am
Jose Luis Amaya Rios
Experiments – Access to Practice
9:35 – 9:45 am
Karina Patel
Experiments – Office Hours
9:45 – 9:55 am
Tiffany Hwang
Experiments – Access to Practice
9:55 – 10:00 am
Break
10:00 – 10:10 am
Glory Figueria
S-STEM Insights
10:10 – 10:20 am
Aishah Asif
Experiments – Backchannel
10:20 – 10:30 am
Karen Lin
S-STEM Insights
10:30 – 10:40 am
Wyatt Wang
Experiments – Backchannel
10:40 – 10:50 am
Jenny Pham
Wellness Project
10:50 – 11:00 am
Jasmine Ma
SEISMIC Commons: Open Access Resources
2022 SEISMIC Scholars Overview
Testimonials
“The SEISMIC Scholars program was everything I could’ve imagined and more. There were so many independent facets to the program that enriched me in different ways. I was assigned to the Backchannel research project within the Experiments Working Group which had me actively working with my PI to troubleshoot kinks in the research and contribute to the research design as well as processing data that had been collected. At our weekly professional development seminars, I learnt a range of research skills including coding with R and data presentation alongside resume writing, interview skills and personal statements – all of which have been so helpful in my medical school application process. But more than anything else, the best part of the internship was the connections with people across institutions. The entire SEISMIC collaboration is composed of knowledgeable and compassionate people who I feel so lucky to have met and worked with. If there are any doubts in your mind about applying to this program, do it. I promise you you won’t regret it!”
– Abigail Buckle, 2022 SEISMIC Scholar
Scholars
Abigail Buckle
University of California, Irvine
Junior
Major(s): Biological Sciences
Summer hobbies: Reading, Hiking, Studying for the MCAT, Soccer, Spending time with my cats
SEISMIC Project: Experiments Working Group (WG 2) – Backchannel
SEISMIC Project Description: “This project will use the summer to evaluate educational technologies that support anonymous backchannels in the classroom. The SEISMIC Scholar will attend weekly whole team meetings and will be assigned to work within a specialized team that will meet at least weekly. The SEISMIC Scholar will become familiar with the platform to create training for students. A plan for appropriate deliverables will be created depending on the student’s skill set and interests.” – Perry Samson
Ashley Huynh
University of California, Santa Barbara
Sophomore
Major(s): Biopsychology
Summer hobbies: Drawing, hanging out with my dog
SEISMIC Project: Constructs Working Group (WG 4) – Mapping Institutional Resources
SEISMIC Project Description: “This project is focused on (1) developing an inventory that catalogs the different resources, programs, projects, and offices related to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in STEM at SEISMIC institutions and (b) analyzing this catalogue with the purpose of uncovering underlying constructs/definitions of DEI, its outcomes and the true impact on DEI in STEM at SEISMIC institutions. The SEISMIC Scholar will aid the primary researcher in building this inventory, analyzing the various aspects of DEI programs in the inventory and join the weekly project meetings to discuss work done and next steps. The SEISMIC scholar will be introduced to literature and research methods often used in critical education research. This weekly meeting will also be the students’ opportunity to connect with their project mentor (& other scholars if present).” – Nikeetha Farfan D’Souza
Clayton Osborne
University of Pittsburgh
Junior
Major(s): Biological Sciences
Summer Hobbies: Exercising, listening to music, spending time with friends and family
SEISMIC Project: Measurement Working Group (WG 1)- In-Class Experiences Influencing Outcomes
SEISMIC Project Description: “I want to understand the impact of students’ experiences in large lecture courses that predict: whether they choose to go on in later courses in that department, how well they do in those later courses, whether they stay at the university. I have a large dataset of student survey responses and also access to their later outcomes. The work of the summer is to analyze the data, exploring what predicts and for which student groups. No prior experience with statistics is required, but they should be interested in quantitative work.” – Chris Schunn
Christine Sung
University of Michigan
Junior
Major(s): Electrical Engineering
Summer Hobbies: Dance, Yoga, Cooking
SEISMIC Project: Constructs Working group (WG 4) – Framework Analysis
SEISMIC Project Description: “The purpose of this project is to compare the ways that constructs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion are defined and used in and across disciplines outside of STEM education. The SEISMIC Scholar will meet with the project lead weekly and will participate in biweekly project team meetings. The Scholar will select a theory they are interested in and work alongside other project group members to complete a literature review and primer document. They will complete a short presentation capturing the goals of the overall project and how their project maps onto those goals.” – Nita Tarchinski, Nikeetha Farfan D’Souza
Freddy Camacho Oviedo
University of California, Davis
Junior
Major(s): Psychology and Chicano Studies
Summer hobbies: I have taken up to gardening and am currently cultivating a dwarf cypress tree. When I am not gardening, you can find me reading poetry or theory.
SEISMIC Project: Experiments Working Group (WG 2) – Office Hours
SEISMIC Project Description: “The project will have biweekly meetings with the SEISMIC Scholars, and will have the students work on data coding and literature reviews.” – Lalo Gonzalez
Marina Butitova
University of California, Santa Barbara
Sophomore
Major(s): Environment Studies and Statistics & Data Science
Summer hobbies: Painting, playing guitar and reading
SEISMIC Project: Experiments Working Group (WG 2) – CLUES
SEISMIC Project Description: “This project is building a system that helps student help-seeking. Lectures are indexed so students can search for specific moments in class videos and study guides are automatically created based on what was discussed in class. Strong programming skills will benefit participants in this project. The SEISMIC Scholar will attend weekly whole team meetings and will be assigned to work within a specialized team that will meet at least weekly. The SEISMIC Scholar will become familiar with the platform to create training for students. A plan for appropriate deliverables will be created depending on the student’s skill set and interests.” – Perry Samson
Logan Geivet
University of California, Santa Barbara
Junior
Major(s): Computer Engineering
Summer hobbies: Playing basketball, playing video games, and hanging with my friends!
SEISMIC Project: Experiments Working Group (WG 2) – Access to Practice
SEISMIC Project Description: “SEISMIC Scholars will meet weekly over the summer (time TBD).
One Scholar will download, organize, and code the peer review data from an OChem class at Indiana University. The second Scholar will work with us to develop a protocol for interviews with underserved students in large STEM courses and the focus of the protocol will be to develop a holistic understanding of students’ disciplinary belonging.” – Vanessa Woods, Maggie Safronova
Kaitlyn Mateychuk
University of Minnesota
Senior
Major(s): Biology
Summer hobbies: In the summer I enjoy hiking, using my hammock, swimming, and walking my dogs!
SEISMIC Project: Implementing Change Working Group (WG) – Bright spots Proposal
SEISMIC Project Description: Coming soon
Amy Travis
University of Pittsburgh
Senior
Major(s): Molecular Biology
Summer hobbies: Reading in my hammock, spending time with friends, and swimming
SEISMIC Project: Experiments Working Group (WG 2) – Office Hours
SEISMIC Project Description: “The project will have biweekly meetings with the SEISMIC Scholars, and will have the students work on data coding and literature reviews.” – Lalo Gonzalez
Waseem Alsayed
University of Michigan
Senior
Major(s): Computer Science
Summer hobbies: Playing basketball, playing video games, and watching movies.
SEISMIC Project: Experiments Working Group (WG 2) – Access to Practice
SEISMIC Project Description: “SEISMIC Scholars will meet weekly over the summer (time TBD).
One Scholar will download, organize, and code the peer review data from an OChem class at Indiana University. The second Scholar will work with us to develop a protocol for interviews with underserved students in large STEM courses and the focus of the protocol will be to develop a holistic understanding of students’ disciplinary belonging.” – Vanessa Woods, Maggie Safronova
Organizing Team
Anna James
Nita Tarchinski
Sabrina Solanki
Mike Wilton
Vanessa Woods
Karen Vega Vega
Showcase
Our SEISMIC Scholars Showcase took place on August 18th, 2022! Check out the schedule below for scholars, presentations, and posters.
The schedule is below (times are in PT).
Time
Scholar
Project Presentation
Poster
9 – 9:10am PT
Welcome & Opening Remarks
9:10 – 9:20am PT
Kaitlyn Mateychuk
Implementing Change Working Group – Bright Spots Proposal
9:20 – 9:30am PT
Freddy Camacho
Experiments Working Group – Office Hours
9:30 – 9:40am PT
Waseem Alsayed
Experiments Working Group – Access to Practice
9:50 – 10am PT
Ashley Huynh
Constructs Working Group – Mapping Institutional Resources
10 – 10:10am PT
Marina Butitova
Experiments Working Group – CLUES
10:10 – 10:20am PT
Clayton Osborne
Measurement Working Group – In-Class Experiences Influencing Outcomes
10:20 – 10:30am PT
Amy Travis
Experiments Working Group – Office Hours
10:30 – 10:40am PT
Logan Geivet
Experiments Working Group – Access to Practice
10:40 – 10:50am PT
Abigail Buckle
Experiments Working Group – Backchannel
2021 SEISMIC Scholars Overview
Scholars
Leta Bryan
University of Michigan
Sophomore
Major(s): Undeclared, but interested in biology and biopsychology
Summer hobbies: Traveling with friends, playing Pokémon Go, watching Black Mirror, trying new crafts, and swimming
SEISMIC Project: Comparative Analysis – Implementing Change WG
Project Description: SEISMIC Scholars will be involved in research into the tools offered on different campuses, such as Know Your Students. The focus is on tools that provide student outcome data to faculty. Students will create a matrix with details on each tool, and reflect on the data being shared and whether that feels appropriate, whether there is missing information, etc.
Janna Crocker
University of California, Santa Barbara
Junior
Major(s): Mechanical Engineering with double minors in English and Professional Writing
Summer hobbies: Reading on the beach, video games, and hanging out with my dog
SEISMIC Project: Backchannel – Experiments WG
Project Description: The SEISMIC Scholar will become familiar with the platform to create training for students. A plan for appropriate deliverables will be created depending on the student’s skill set and interests.
Cindy Duong
University of California, Irvine
Junior
Major(s): Pharmaceutical Sciences
Summer Hobbies: Hiking, baking, biking, and gardening
SEISMIC Project: Content Analysis – Constructs WG
Project Description: As part of the content analysis project team, the SEISMIC Scholar will work with our team to understand how scientists write about equity and inclusion in top science journals (Science, Nature, and PNAS). They will help create and maintain a database of articles from these journals with key descriptors about how equity and inclusion are described. Through this project, they will learn about systematic search, data coding and extraction, knowledge organization, and qualitative coding.
Ritu Gangadhara
Indiana University
Junior
Major(s): Neuroscience and Psychology
Summer Hobbies: Painting, reading fiction, and running
SEISMIC Project: Framework Analysis – Constructs WG
Project Description: The purpose of this project is to compare the ways that constructs related to diversity, equity, and inclusion are defined and used in and across disciplines outside of STEM education. The Scholar will select a theory they are interested in and work alongside other project group members to complete a literature review and primer document. They will complete a short presentation capturing the goals of the overall project and how their project maps onto those goals.
Franchesca Inay
University of Pittsburgh
Senior
Major(s): Neuroscience and pre-med track
Summer hobbies: Helping my university’s health sciences library as a video captioning assistant, exploring new states with my family, and staying active through hiking/weightlifting/interval training 🙂
SEISMIC Project: Mapping Institutional Resources – Constructs WG
Project Description: This project is focused on developing an inventory that identifies and catalogues the different resources, programs, projects, and offices related to increasing diversity, equity, and inclusion at SEISMIC institutions.
Michael Norman Johnson III
Indiana University
Senior
Major(s): Mathematics
Summer hobbies: Jogging, listening to music, and learning more chess openings
SEISMIC Project: Grading Approaches – Implementing Change WG
Project Description: The SEISMIC Scholar will be involved in an extensive literature review into different aspects of grading, including the history of grading, alternative methods coming up on grading, and “Grading for Equity.”
Josue Menjivar-Mendez
University of California, Santa Barbara
Junior
Major(s): Electrical Engineering
Summer hobbies: Exercising/sports, video games
SEISMIC Project: Belonging – Experiments WG
Project Description: SEISMIC Scholars will be coding student and Teaching Assistant (TA) open-ended responses.
Paola Pantoja
University of California, Davis
Sophomore
Major(s): Mathematics and Chicano/a studies with a minor in Education
Summer hobbies: Going on bike rides and movie nights
SEISMIC Project: Access to Practice – Experiments WG
Project Description: One Scholar will download, organize, and code the peer review data from an O chem class at Indiana University. The second Scholar will work with us to develop a protocol for interviews with underserved students in large STEM courses and the focus of the protocol will be to develop a holistic understanding of students’ disciplinary belonging.
Anna Rickabaugh
University of Pittsburgh
Junior
Major(s): Computational Biology
Summer hobbies: Gardening, fishing, and geocaching
SEISMIC Project: Comparative Analysis – Implementing Change WG
Project Description: SEISMIC Scholars will be involved in research into the tools offered on different campuses, such as Know Your Students. The focus is on tools that provide student outcome data to faculty. Students will create a matrix with details on each tool, and reflect on the data being shared and whether that feels appropriate, whether there is missing information, etc.
Shubhi Sinha
Indiana University, Bloomington
Junior
Major(s): Molecular & Cellular Biology and Neuroscience
Summer hobbies: Graphic design, digital illustration, and hiking!
SEISMIC Project: Access to Practice – Experiments WG
Project Description: One Scholar will download, organize, and code the peer review data from an O chem class at Indiana University. The second Scholar will work with us to develop a protocol for interviews with underserved students in large STEM courses and the focus of the protocol will be to develop a holistic understanding of students’ disciplinary belonging.
Arianna Stancari
University of Minnesota, Twin Cities
Senior
Major(s): Biochemistry with a minor in pharmacology
Summer hobbies: Singing, playing the piano, doing crossword puzzles, reading mystery novels, and cooking
SEISMIC Project: Belonging – Experiments WG
Project Description: SEISMIC scholars will be coding student and Teaching Assistant (TA) open-ended responses.
Angela Torres
University of California, Irvine
Junior
Major(s): Pharmaceutical Science
Summer hobbies: Lifting weights, hiking, and going to the beach!
SEISMIC Project: Office Hours – Experiments WG
Project Description: SEISMIC Scholars will work on data coding and literature reviews.
Karen Vega Vega
University of California, Irvine
Junior
Major(s): Biological Sciences
Summer hobbies: Reading, working out, illustrating, listening to true crime podcasts and cooking
SEISMIC Project: Office Hours – Experiments WG
Project Description: SEISMIC Scholars will work on data coding and literature reviews.
Organizing Team
Anna James
Nita Tarchinski
Sabrina Solanki
Mike Wilton
Vanessa Woods
Showcase
SESSION 1 (12:20 pm – 12:50 pm EDT)
Breakout Room 1
- Michael Johnson – “Exploring and Supporting Equitable Policies From the Campus to the Classroom”
- Angela Torres – “Why aren’t students attending office hours?”
- Shubhi Sinha – “Investigating the effectiveness of write-to-learn assignments in increasing conceptual learning of Organic Chemistry II students at Indiana University Bloomington”
Breakout Room 2
- Ritu Gangadhara –“Critical Race Theory in Higher Education STEMM Contexts”
- Franchesca Inay – “Institutional Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice Efforts at IU Bloomington”
SESSION 2 (12:55 pm – 1:15 pm EDT)
Breakout Room 1
- Karen Vega Vega – “Understanding Office Hours Practices and Student Experiences in Undergraduate STEM Courses”
- Josue Menjivar-Mendez – “Teaching Assistant Empathy in the Belonging Project”
Breakout Room 2
- Cindy Duong – “In Search of Equity”
- Anna Rickabaugh – “Comparative Analysis of SEISMIC Institutions’ Student Data Tools”
SESSION 3 (1:20 pm – 1:40 pm EDT)
Breakout Room 1
- Janna Crocker – “Creating a Tool for Discipline Inference from Lecture Keywords”
- Leta Bryan – “Comparative Analysis of Student Data Tools at SEISMIC Institutions”
Breakout Room 2
- Paola Pantoja – “Identify and Self Efficacy: Two Factors that Contribute to One’s Sense of Belonging”
- Arianna Stancari – “Effect of an ecological-belonging intervention on instructor empathy”
Focus on Connections (1:45 pm – 1:55 pm EDT)
Join the SEISMIC scholars in a breakout room to discuss their projects and future opportunities.
- Breakout Room 1 – Angela Torres, Karen Vega Vega, Janna Crocker
- Breakout Room 2 – Anna Rickabaugh, Leta Bryan, Michael Johnson
- Breakout Room 3 – Arianna Stancari, Josue Menjivar-Mendez, Paola Pantoja, Shubhi Sinha
- Breakout Room 4 – Cindy Duong, Ritu Gangadhara, Franchesca Inay