Mentorship & Research Opportunities for Underrepresented Students

The Communication Studies Department highlights two new programs that provide mentorship opportunities for underrepresented students.

The College of Liberal Arts Underrepresented Students Network (CLA USN) is a peer mentoring program for underrepresented students in our college. Mentors can meet informally with mentees to provide support and resource recommendations on Cal Poly’s campus. USN is not a counseling service, but a place for students to talk with peers who can identify with the experiences of other underrepresented students.  Please see the following link to learn more about the program and to meet the USN Peer Mentoring Team: https://cla.calpoly.edu/usn

 
BEACoN is a program funded by the Office of University Diversity & Inclusivity to mentor diverse students across the Cal Poly Campus. It works to educate and empower underrepresented students as they aspire to successfully complete their education. The program also provides research mentoring opportunities for students.

Two Communication Studies faculty members, Dr. Leslie Nelson and Dr. Lorraine Jackson, will be mentoring students on research projects in this year’s BEACoN cohort. Dr. Nelson’s research will examine how foster parents make sense of their foster child's reunification with their biological parent(s) and Dr. Jackson’s research will assess reactions to the tobacco industry's anti-smoking messages. Students interesting in applying (by 5:00pm November 5) can learn more about the program and research opportunities from the following link: https://beaconmentors.calpoly.edu/faculty-research-projects