Profiles in Mentoring: Adriana Zuniga-Teran on STEM Mentoring for Minority Student Advancement

Adriana Zúñiga-Terán is an associate professor in the School of Geography, Development, and Environment, with a joint appointment at the Udall Center for Studies in Public Policy. Her research lies at the intersection of urban planning, sustainability, and environmental governance. As a Hispanic Serving Institution Fellow, she has worked closely with underrepresented youth and developed a multi-generational mentoring program that supports students across educational stages. We recently had the opportunity to speak with Dr. Zúñiga-Terán about how her research, mentoring, and community engagement intersect to inform both policy and practice, featured here in the Chronicle!

The Chronicle (C): What first inspired you to develop this multi-generational mentoring program, and how did your experiences working with underrepresented youth or community partners shape the vision for this project?

Adriana Zuniga-Teran (AZT): I am a researcher studying environmental justice and I came to learn that educational opportunities (as environmental burdens) are not equally distributed. As a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI) Fellow, I corroborated this phenomenon. The university does not usually recruit students from low-income neighborhoods, widening the educational gap. To address injustice, mentoring underrepresented students is the first step, and as an educator who is a minority and has lived under the poverty level myself, I feel the responsibility to mentor others like me.

In previous projects with underrepresented students, we noticed that K-12 students are more interested in what university students had to say (rather than a middle-aged woman). We engaged university students to become the mentors of K-12 students and that helped increase participation. So, for this project, we built on that experience to create a mentoring model where faculty mentored university students (grad and undergrad), who in turn, led the activities with K-12 students. University students became the leaders and the face of the project. We just facilitated the efforts.

C: In designing the program, you combined mentoring, real-world learning, and GIS training. What did you learn about how these elements worked together to influence students’ confidence, sense of belonging, and interest in STEM pathways?

AZT: GIS is very engaging. Data on maps is easy to communicate and understand. So, we trained students in the use of GIS and then sent them to collect data in two parks (one in their neighborhood and the other one in a middle class neighborhood). Students chose the variable to focus on. Some students collected data on trash, or pot-holes, or the quality of restrooms, etc. Others focused on number of trees, art pieces, amenities, etc. They geocoded the data using tablets. Then they compared the data from the two parks. All students found that the quality of the park in their neighborhood was lower than the other park. Then they saw that their classmates found the same trend. The compiled data tells a compelling story – no matter how you look at the two parks, one is better than the other. This experience using data to inform their assessment is the value of STEM fields. It is not an opinion, or a belief. It is a fact that parks are not created and maintained equally. We invited government officials to the final presentation and they could hear from our youth this trend and that they need to fix this inequity. This experience built their confidence and their sense of belonging and (hopefully) the need to advocate for their community. STEM is the most efficient way to advocate for a better world.

C: Your findings highlight changes not only in technical skills but also in how students saw themselves as scientists, leaders, and potential college students. Which of these shifts felt most meaningful to you, and why?

AZT: With this project we really hope to plant a seed in students’ hearts. We hope to have broken barriers in their perceptions that STEM fields are difficult or boring. They can do it! It can also be fun and meaningful. We also brought them to the university campus four times. We hope that this series of visits help them feel more comfortable with the idea of pursuing a college education. We also showed them some of the resources that they can get as minority students, showing them that they can find a community during college. In sum, the idea was to plant seeds in our youth and inspire them to pursue a higher education. It is very meaningful for our team to think that the students engaged in this project can think of college as something that can be for them. We don’t know if this will be the case, but it is worth trying.

Read Dr. Zuniga-Teran’s full paper here