Thank you, 2020-2021 Bio/Diversity Project Leaders, for a fantastic year with our program!
Program Description
The Bio/Diversity Project Leadership Program expands program planning, partnership building, science communication, and service learning opportunities for UArizona students interested in environmental issues, and fostering diverse, inclusive, and equitable learning and working environments. Through this paid leadership program, a small cohort of UArizona students engaged in monthly training throughout the Fall 2020 semester to learn how to develop and implement self-directed projects that engage the campus community around issues of sustainability, biodiversity, and human diversity in environmental fields. These projects provided service learning opportunities for UArizona students and community members of Tucson. Through a semester-long training program in the Fall, student leaders identified and assessed potential projects within areas of need, as well as developed critical collaboration, cooperation, and communication skills. Our student leaders facilitated 4 panel events this Spring 2021 semester that reached both UArizona students and local community members.
By providing this pathway into paid work and leadership positions, we witnessed UArizona students develop confidence, self-efficacy, and further refine their skills into marketable experiences. We believe that by expanding this pipeline from our Bio/Diversity Project internship into the environmental science workforce, we can help foster a generation of strong leaders in sustainability that are ready to tackle any environmental challenge presented to them.