Lead Mentor GSR Position

Position Overview

The lead mentor is an important element of the Marine and Coastal Sciences major, providing guidance to undergrads on how to align their classroom learning with scientific research and with eventual careers. The lead mentor will spend two quarters working with CMSI leadership to create and deliver content, both in formal and informal settings to help students get the most out of their UC Davis experience. It’s an opportunity to develop your skills as an educator, communicator, and mentor.

Responsibilities

Fall Quarter

• In collaboration with the Instructor and CMSI Deputy Director, design a 2-unit professional development class (to be offered in winter quarter) in the Marine and Coastal Science (MCS) major covering topics such as:
  • Developing a sense of identity as a marine scientist
  • Finding opportunities during undergrad to develop interests and skills outside the classroom
  • Identifying future career pathways during and after undergrad, roles of marine scientists
• Finding and applying for jobs / internships / fellowships
• How science works in practice
• Science communication
• Science ethics
• (max: 30 students)
• Set up Canvas sites and review pre-course survey materials
• Curate resources for students such as list of jobs and research experiences (including reviewing existing information on various websites)
• Coordinate and lead field trip to BML for MCS Students
• Organize a professional development workshop on a topic TBD
• Potential to take workshops through Center for Educational Effectiveness to develop their own pedagogy

Winter Quarter

• Teach two-hour professional development class for juniors, seniors and transfer students in the MCS major. Class may include weekly guest speakers in professional roles as well as the UC Davis Internship and Career Center.
  • Can draw on previous course designs, though these will need to be adapted to a different time commitment from the past
• Collect survey data following existing methods to assess student learning during professional development experience
• Work with CMSI Deputy Director to plan career information sessions (likely to be offered in spring) including brainstorming topics and reaching out to potential speakers.
• Document class activities and observations to help future lead mentors learn from your experiences
• Help update the job description and recruit future lead mentors

Ongoing Efforts

The lead mentor has a responsibility to create a sense of community and professional opportunities for the undergraduate student population throughout the year.

In each year, the Lead Mentor should develop and run some mix of ongoing activities in Professional development, Community Building, Maintenance of the CMSI infrastructure to help undergrads. This might include some mix of the following:

• Host weekly office hours (or possibly more social event like coffee hour)  for MCS majors to provide guidance on internship and career-related activities
• Help maintain a database of marine and coastal science research and career experience opportunities at BML and on campus, as well as identify and communicate local off-campus opportunities. Work with MCS major advisor to help students identify and apply for positions
• Serve as interface between CMSI and undergraduates to help students identify and participate in professional development opportunities such as salons, research symposia, etc
• Meet Marine Science Club, and SCUBA club to mentor officers on club structure and activities

Requirements

• Must be at least a 3rd year Master’s Student, PhD student or PhD candidate studying marine and coastal science with a CMSI-affiliated faculty member. This requirement is meant to identify students who 1) are far enough along in their studies to be reasonably proficient in their working knowledge of UC Davis and academic research and 2) are beyond most or all of their coursework obligations
• Ability to accept a GSR position based on UC Davis Graduate Studies Requirements.
• Ability to commit for the Fall 2024 and Winter 2025 quarters including agreement from major advisor for the time commitment. This is a 50% GSR position and is expected to take 20 hours per week during the quarters

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated mentorship experience
• Familiarity with opportunities available to marine science undergraduates
• Diversity, equity and inclusion training/experience
• Training in scientific ethics/ responsible conduct of research