A UTSA-led research coalition was selected to receive a four-year, $1 million grant from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA), a division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), to establish the EcoJEDI Program, a citywide collaboration facilitating career readiness in food and agriculture sciences (FAS). Three Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSI) — The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), Our Lady of the Lake University (OLLU), and Northeast Lakeview College (NLC) — have collaborated to offer this program.
The program introduces students to science literacy and storytelling to build an education pathway to USDA careers, beginning in high school and continuing on to higher education. It seeks to bolster recruitment, graduation, and career readiness in FAS and establish a career pipeline with the USDA by offering students experiential learning opportunities during the academic year and summer terms.
EcoJEDI integrates writing and other communication skills into existing science courses through a facilitated process called Communication-Enriched Curriculum (CEC) that includes counter-storytelling, a method that showcases stories that are not often told.
EcoJEDI is framed in an approachable learning style that is culturally inclusive to augment science students' power skills in communication and writing. Participants spotlight local ecological concerns through science narratives — stories that are drawn from a student's unique experience. This storytelling increases engagement in leadership, outreach, and community building.
Nearly half of the project's grant funding is dedicated to driving student success, including funding EcoJEDI scholars to engage in environmental science and natural resource learning opportunities that hone the communication and leadership skills that are crucial for career readiness. The remaining funds will support university initiatives such as summer enrichment activities, nature-immersion research, mentoring, workshops, and training. That money will also fund faculty pay and stipends to support these activities.
