Welcome to the NSF Showcase video for the Cal-Bridge program. The Cal-Bridge program is a California based partnership between the California State University and University of California systems designed to increase the number of underrepresented students obtaining PhDs in physics and astronomy. We are starting a pilot in Computer Science and Engineering this coming year.

This is our second year participating in the NSF STEM for All Video Showcase. Our first video was from 2018, and you can view it here: https://stemforall2018.videohall.com/presentati.... That video gives a nice introductory overview of the Cal-Bridge program.

This year, our video is called, "Cal-Bridge: Student Voices," and it highlights interviews with scholars talking about how the program has influenced their journey to obtaining a PhD. There are a number of themes that come up in the video, and I would be curious to hear how all of you react to them:

1) Differences and diversity. What do we mean when we say we value these ideas in STEM? What arguments do the scholars make in favor of these principles? Do you agree with them? How do these concepts play out in your own work?

2) Mentoring. The scholars talk about the importance of mentors to their journey. Why do they think mentoring matters? Are there specific things they cite that could be universal? How could those principles be applied to your work?

3) Community. The scholars talk about (and the video tries to show) how the Cal-Bridge program is building a community of like-minded scholars with a common goal, a community that they can all rely on now and throughout their careers as scientists. Is community an important part of your own work? How could you foster community in that work? One of the challenges the Cal-Bridge program faces in building community is the distributed nature of the program (scholars from 16 different campuses around California). Do you have suggestions for us on how to do this better?

We hope you enjoyed learning about our amazing scholars through this video. We look forward to hearing your reactions.

P.S. Since this video was made, we found out that Rob Tejada is heading to Princeton University, Vidya Venkatesan is heading to UC Irvine to work with Dr. Aomawa Shields, whom she references in the video, and Jordan Ealy is heading to the University of Maryland, all three to pursue a PhD in Astrophysics. Nicole Sanchez is, of course, already well on her way to earning her PhD in Astrophysics from the University of Washington.

All four of them are co-presenters on this video and would be happy to take questions directed at them.

Great video and program. Thanks for sharing. I went back and watched last years program as well. I'd love to know more about the mentoring component of the program. How are students and mentors paired? Are the students trained on how to navigate and utilize their mentors? 

Im proud of you alessa, keep up the good work.

Well done. Truly inspirational and wonderful. Thank you for your dedication and work. Video quality is superb.

I work for Cal-Bridge as a program coordinator and it is truly amazing to see how the program has impacted so many scholar's lives for the better. A program like this will help to change the field of Stem forever. Cal-Bridge is an amazing program and I'm personally very proud to be a part of it!

As someone who has gone through this experience, mentoring offers to help navigate the process of applying, but how to seek out healthy environments once you arrive at graduate school.  I appreciate the pairing with two mentors because students should learn to cultivate different relationships and understand the strengths of different mentors.

• What types of training do your mentors undergo?  Are there culturally relevant and responsive practices that are woven into the fabric of the program.  This would seem especially crucial as the reality (as mentioned in the video) that astronomy and physics lack diversity.

• What evidence do you have of students maintaining these mentoring relationships through their graduate programs?

     Thank you for the great video!

I enjoyed watching your video and can definitely see a connection with CAHSI efforts.  Can you elaborate on the criteria for mentor-mentee matching? How is the mentoring experience monitored? Does the source of funding for students' graduate studies come from the doctoral-granting institution?

Hi everyone! I wanted to express that being a Cal-Bridge scholar has been an absolute honor. Cal-Bridge has given me the necessary tools and close mentorship to prepare me for graduate school over the past two years. I've participated in two astronomy internships at UC San Diego and Stanford University, and I've attended two American Astronomical Society (AAS) conferences in the past two years.  I'm available if anyone has any questions from a student's perspective that is moving on to a graduate program in the fall to study exoplanet transit detection, largely thanks to the preparation and mentorship provided by my Cal-Bridge mentors and the program as a whole.

- Rob

Thanks for sharing about your important Cal-Bridge program. I agree that increasing the number of underrepresented students getting advanced degrees in physics and astronomy (and all STEM subjects) is crucially important. Have you thought about offering advice (perhaps in the form of a webinar or short video) to departments that lack diversity and perhaps are not hiring graduates from historically underrepresented groups due to a mixture of implicit bias and explicit racism/ gender bias/ etc.? Preparing more students and connecting them in a community with each other and with mentors is fabulous, and I'm wondering what can be done to change the culture of the target departments so their cultures will value having a more diverse group of faculty?

Hey Everyone! I am Vidya Venkatesan, an international student at CSU, Northridge, and a Cal-bridge scholar. Cal-bridge has not only invigorated my motivation to pursue a Ph.D. through mentorship, workshops, conference grants, and internships but also made my dream of researching on exoplanets come true. As an international student, I had minimal REU options available for me. Through Cal-bridge, I could attend an REU at Stanford as a sophomore and presented my research on Solar Physics at the AAS, where I met one of my role models in the field of exoplanets, Professor Aomawa Shields from UC, Irvine. Cal-bridge also made it possible for me to work with Dr. Shields over the summer during my junior year. This year, I got into UC, Irvine's Astrophysics Ph.D. program, and will continue to work with my role model starting this Fall. Cal-bridge program is changing students' life in a significant way, and I am so proud to be a part of it!

Thanks for sharing this video and the great program! The Cal-Bridge program might provide one solution to help increase diversity in certain fields (e.g., having more girls pursue advanced degrees and career in Computer Science field). I wonder about the possibility of expanding this program to other campuses or subject areas considering there are only certain number of professors/scholars in a field who can pair with students as a mentor. I would also like to know more about how you are evaluating the impact of Cal-Bridge program. It looks qualitative data have been collected to measure the experience/perception of those participants. Were quantitative data also collected to measure the program impact on pursue PhDs in physics and astronomy (e.g., number of program participants who go on to pursue their PhDs in these fields as comparing with their non-program counterparts)?

In fact, we are planning a pilot program in CS this coming year and hope to add other disciplines as we recruit faculty to lead such efforts. We are very interested in helping other geographic regions develop similar programs and are happy to discuss with any partners who are interested.

As for evaluation, we are definitely collecting both qualitative and quantitative data. Much of the positive feedback on the program is well represented by the video. We have an independent evaluator collecting survey and interview data from scholars, and they uniformly list mentoring as the most important element of the program, followed by financial support and community/networking. 

A total of 38 scholars are currently or will be enrolled in PhD programs across the country this fall, representing 2/3 of our scholars who have earned their BS and applied. Cal-Bridge scholars have begun PhD programs in physics, astronomy, and closely related fields at top PhD programs nationally, including 5 UC programs: UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Merced, UC Santa Barbara, and UC Santa Cruz; and 14 non-UC PhD programs: University of Arizona, Arizona State University, Caltech, University of Chicago, Georgia State University, Harvard University, University of Maryland, MIT, Michigan State University, University of Nevada, Reno, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Oregon Health Sciences University (Medical Physics), Pennsylvania State University, University of Pennsylvania, Princeton University, University of Southern California (USC), Texas Christian University, University of Wisconsin, Madison, and University of Wyoming. Seven (7) of these scholars have won NSF Graduate Research Fellowships and four more received an Honorable Mention.

It is almost impossible to find a comparable comparison group, but nationally only 2% of URM students in STEM pursue a PhD. In addition, the interviews and other testimony of scholars, such as is found in our video, make it clear that they believe they would not have achieved their dream of pursuing a PhD without the program. I consider such firsthand testimony to be very powerful evidence of the efficacy of our proram.

Hi Alexander, This video walked through a lot of interactions and support through the student's eyes. The 'platform to find mentors like us' was so powerful that I did further research on Dr. Aomawa Shields. What an inspiration! A wonderful program and video. 

 As a STEM scholar at an urban facing university, Virginia Commonwealth University, I am encouraged with your focus and attention to diversity supporting opportunity, ensuring creativity at the highest level of scholarship! So much is supporting through efforts you are providing as students stretch themselves, increase their self-efficacy. Thank you for sharing your efforts!

I'd like to add to the discussion, from the view of an instructor at one of California's Community Colleges, where I can share these stories of current Cal-Bridge scholars with my students who aspire to transfer to CSU and UC. The video shown here, and all of the resources that are shared with community college participants in the program, are enormously inspiring.  One of my goals is to encourage students to consider transfer, and offer them a view of a very possible, and rewarding future in science.  Many of the CSU and UC graduates start out at a community college, and the program's ability to reach my students is another very positive aspect of its power.

Dear Professor. The showcasing of intellectual interests and past achievements by the individual budding scholars was illuminating. The scheme of regularly monitoring and mentoring them for the cause of a futuristic science is commendable. Wishing all the students a great journey in seeking knowledge beyond the stars. Dr. S. Venkatesan, Professor in Clinical Psychology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore, Karnataka: 570 006, INDIA

Dear Professor. The showcasing of intellectual interests and past achievements by the individual budding scholars was illuminating. The scheme of regularly monitoring and mentoring them for the cause of a futuristic science is commendable. Wishing all the students a great journey in seeking knowledge beyond the stars. Dr. S. Venkatesan, Professor in Clinical Psychology, All India Institute of Speech and Hearing, Mysore, Karnataka: 570 006, INDIA

This program changed my life. It supported me throughout my bachelors, helped me get into a summer internship, and gave me the confidence and ability to get into a PhD program in Physics. Thank you Dr. Rudolph and administrative team for all of your care and support!!

A great program supporting students pursuits into physics and astronomy - actually helping students reach for the stars! And complete support with mentorship and guidance through application, professional development.  

I loved both physics and astronomy when I was younger but didn't think I could do that kind of work. It's so wonderful to see you encouraging children to pursue their dreams and see beyond perceived limitations.