BUILD EXITO's 4th Annual Research Learning Community/Scholar Meet and Greet is here!

The opportunity to engage in 18-month long in-depth research placements is a cornerstone of the BUILD EXITO program.  Scholars are placed in over 100 labs at Portland State University, Oregon Health and Science University, and our other four-year partner institutions.  The Research Learning Communities span many disciplines, research activities, and focus on a variety of health-related issues.

In early April, we were thrilled to host our 4th annual Research Learning Community/Scholar Meet and Greet to begin the matching process for 70 Scholars who will be placed in RLCs this June. These students will commit to 250 research hours this summer and 10 hours per week throughout the following academic year. During this networking session, representatives from each lab were present and students had the chance to seek out placements of interest to introduce themselves and ask questions. We are so excited about the amazing researchers that have dedicated their time and effort to support our Scholars such as Dr. Fair and Dr. Jiao!  

As students are matched in RLCs and begin their work with researchers they gain valuable skills, conduct original research, and get a much clearer picture of what day to day work in research looks like. As students present their research in a community symposium after a year in their placement, they often remark at how much they have learned and changed since they began. A Scholar recently said, "The experience I'm getting interning and working in my RLC is really cool. I'm getting a head start, I'm already getting the tools I need, and by the time I am there I am getting the skills and it's not brand new."

Each spring, Scholars placed in labs and their research mentors are surveyed and asked to respond to a variety of questions about student RLC experience including the activities they participate in. The results shown in the graph below showcase not only the breadth of activities that students complete in RLCs but also how students and faculty may assess student participation differently.

We were thrilled to be matching another Scholar Cohort and can't wait to see what mutual learning and growth these matches bring!