2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

This project is sited at a State University (SU) in the southwest borderland, a community with large Latinx and Indigenous populations. SU as a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), provides education to these communities housing approximately 12,000 undergraduate students, of which 63% are Hispanic or Latinx [1]. The development of an engineering research-focused program, REACH - a pseudonym - at SU aims at contributing to the educational equity and research initiatives of Latinx college students. The REACH program seeks to reduce such inequalities providing Latinx students with the opportunity to excel in highly demanding programs and build their education and career path, acquiring the needed technical skills, as confident scientists and outstanding leaders in the engineering field.

This study’s goals were to explore the high-impact research-oriented learning experiences for the Latinx undergraduate participants of the REACH program and how they built strong technical skills while sharing space and knowledge with their fellow peers and mentors. The structure of the REACH program consisted of four cohorts of six to nine undergraduate students led by a research team. The REACH model sought a holistic approach given the current diversity of higher education institutions by addressing the urgent need to better serve minoritized students through mentorship [2][3]. Crisp et al. [4]’s conceptual framework provides a model that integrates vital elements to understand the effectiveness of mentoring in educational contexts. The framework includes elements such as the academic setting, student characteristics, relationship structure, forms of support, and intermediate as well as long term outcomes. Applied this model to research activities and a minority student body, we consider it essential to integrate other components to the framework such as the mentor characteristics, cultural relevance, discipline culture, and student expected outcomes.

The research team conducted pre- and post-experience surveys. Some of the information to be collected involved information on students’ expectations, preparation, and prior research experience as well as students’ expectations, research outcomes, and future professional plans. A qualitative component of the study included two rounds of interviews with students to reflect on prior research and mentoring experiences as well as learning and research outcomes. Six mentors who were a mix of faculty, graduate students, and senior undergraduates also participated in two rounds of interviews and documented their experiences through reflexive journal entries.

Findings revealed that for most student participants their involvement in the REACH program meant their first research experience. Some of them expressed concerns to perform well on the activities in the lab and keep up with the work. Others showed more self-reliance and confidence to accomplish the tasks and were more vocal and open to interacting with their peers. All of them were more aware of what it feels like to be in a research laboratory and what researchers do daily. For mentors, in particular undergraduate and graduate students, performing the role of mentors and leaders was a learning experience. Being mentors also from minority groups developed a strong and culturally relevant connection with student participants.