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Raja GuhaThakurta of Los Altos was inspired to expand UC Santa Cruz programs to accommodate underrepresented communities in the wake of George Floyd’s death in 2020.
Raja GuhaThakurta of Los Altos was inspired to expand UC Santa Cruz programs to accommodate underrepresented communities in the wake of George Floyd’s death in 2020.
Spurred by George Floyd’s death in May 2020, Professor Raja GuhaThakurta of Los Altos spoke with his colleagues at UC Santa Cruz about expanding their science programs to accommodate underrepresented communities.
“(If) we continue to do the work we do while the outside world is in turmoil – turmoil having to do with inequities, social inequities – we’d (be) ignoring a pressing situation that's going on outside our walls,” said the UCSC astronomy and astrophysics professor. “This is really an opportunity to take our outreach programs and really think more deliberately about equity.”
With help from his colleagues, GuhaThakurta added Creating Equity in STEAM (CrEST), an initiative focused on inviting students from around the world to participate in science, technology, engineering, arts and math programs at the university. Since summer 2020, they have launched outreach projects in underserved areas of the U.S., Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Middle
East.
“Our outreach team spent something like 10 days traveling through four islands in Hawaii, focusing on Hawaii-based students who live, work and study in Hawaii,” GuhaThakurta said.
Professor Raja GuhaThakurta, right, promotes the Science Internship Program at UC Santa Cruz with student interns.
Courtesy of Raja GuhaThakurta
By visiting distant places, they partner with communities in hopes of providing opportunities for them to participate in UCSC’s student research programs, including its Science Internship Program (SIP), which provides high school students in STEAM fields an opportunity to work on real-life research projects in the summer. The students’ research is presented as part of a conference at the end of the summer internship. Some even go the extra mile.
“Sometimes, they take this research and they do posters or papers for science competitions, professional conferences and high school competitions,” GuhaThakurta said. “Some go on to co-author professional articles and academic articles.”
SIP, and CrEST as a whole, strives to increase STEM interest and confidence, according to GuhaThakurta. As of now, the
various CrEST programs have reached a few thousand students, with roughly a third of SIP interns having overcome societal obstacles. They include Black Indigenous People of Color, historically excluded groups,
first-generation college aspirants and low-income families.
GuhaThakurta’s favorite part of the programs is the human connections that are built.
“It’s the human connection that has brought me with others, but also others among themselves,” he said. “(I remember seeing) two girls (who participated in SIP together) become friends for life.”
In the future, GuhaThakurta and his colleagues plan to continue building an enriching program for all, no matter how much access they have.
“One of my goals is to really continue to grow the program – not necessarily in leaps and bounds in size – but ensure with deep engagement of one human being with another and to ensure the quality of engagement, ensure that we remain accessible to children around the world, and continue to grow the diversity of the program,” he said.
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