Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP)
About SWGA-SPA and LSAMP
Valdosta State University is a member of the Southwest Georgia STEM Pathways Alliance (SWGA-SPA) program. The SWGA-SPA is funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (LSAMP) program, created to provide support to underrepresented minority (URM) students (African Americans, Hispanic Americans, American Indians, Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Pacific Islanders). The goal of this program is to transform the STEM learning environment by significantly increasing the number of URM majors graduating with baccalaureate degrees and applying to graduate programs in the STEM disciplines.
The Southwestern Georgia STEM Pathways Alliance is an alliance of five institutions in southwestern Georgia, including Valdosta State University. The SWGA-SPA program will support admitted students by providing financial support in addition to academic and research support through faculty mentoring, research internships, group meetings, annual conferences, and graduate school preparation.
Program Benefits:In addition to the financial stipends, participants will receive the benefits of the following program components:
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Who Can Apply?
To be eligible for the program, the following requirements must be met:
- Be a URM student enrolled at one of the partner institutions listed in the table below
- Pursue an associate or undergraduate degree in an LSAMP approved STEM discipline
- Be a U.S. Citizen or permanent resident with a documented qualifying condition (see application for types of conditions)
- Have a GPA of at least a 2.5 in high school (for entering Freshman) or college as calculated by the HOPE scholarship program or a 145 GED score
Partner Institutions in LSAMP SWGA-SPA
| Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College | Georgia Southwestern State University |
| Columbus State University | Valdosta State University |
| Columbus Technical College |
To maintain eligibility requirements, participants must:
- Be a full-time URM student in an LSAMP approved STEM discipline, with a cumulative institutional GPA above the applicant eligibility requirement
- Participate in required activities
- Demonstrate a commitment to excellence both inside and outside of the classroom within their chosen STEM discipline
To Apply - Click Here (Application Period Opens Spring 2023)
Please be sure to complete your application package in Qualtrics by March 3rd, 2023. Incomplete applications will not be considered. For more information, you can view the program flier here: SWGA-SPA LSAMP Recruitment Packet (rev 2023)
VSU LSAMP Contact Information
Interested in applying but unsure if you meet the requirements? Want to learn more about LSAMP and SWGA-SPA? Do you have questions regarding the application process, research opportunities, and how LSAMP can benefit you? Please reach out to any of the following faculty members and they will be happy to answer any questions.
Dr. Linda de la Garza, Co-PI, VSU Campus Coordinator: ldelagarza@valdosta.edu
Dr. Sandra Trowell, VSU Assistant Campus Coordinator: strowell@valdosta.edu
Dr. Jason Allard, VSU Mentor Coordinator: jmallard@valdosta.edu
VSU LSAMP Activities
There are many opportunities to get involved with VSU LSAMP including monthly meetings, activities, research opportunities, and conferences. View the list below and discover how you can get plugged in.
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2023 SWGA-SPA LSAMP Meetings
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2023 Events
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Research Opportunities
Toxicology Mentoring and Skills Development Training Program (September 1, 2022 - May 31, 2023)
The Toxicology Mentoring and Skills Development Training Program (ToxMSDT), housed at the University of California Davis, is a special opportunity for underrepresented undergraduate science students to participate in a year-long mostly remote toxicology training and mentoring program. Funded by the National Institute of Health, the goal of this program is to attract diverse undergraduate students from around the United States to pursue careers in biomedical research, especially in the field of toxicology. Successful applicants will be teamed with a mentor meeting remotely throughout the year. In-person activities include the program kickoff workshop at the University of California Davis, a visit to the mentor’s work site, attendance of the annual Society of Toxicology meeting, and a celebration of the program successes at the Capstone Event at Tuskegee University. Online learning modules are provided throughout the duration of the program to increase mentees knowledge about toxicology. Travel cost support for programmatic activities will be provided by ToxMSDT. This program supplements the regular academic pursuits of the ToxMSDT students. The program starts September 1, 2022, with the end date of May 31, 2023.
Applications are open from February 15, 2022, until June 30, 2022.
Access the application portal here: https://www.toxmsdt.com/mentees.html
Eligibility Requirements:
- Minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0
- Completion of at least one semester of general biology and general chemistry
- Enrolled in an accredited undergraduate institution at the time of application, with continuing enrollment for the next academic year concurrent with the ToxMSDT program
- Member of a group underserved in the biomedical sciences (more information can be found here: disadvantaged backgrounds, NIH notice).
- US citizen or US permanent resident
- Due to institutional requirements, we encourage applications from fully vaccinated COVID-19 individuals only (information on vacation requirements can be found here)
For more information, please reach out to Pia van Benthem, ToxMSDT Program Manager, pvanbenthem@ucdavis.edu
News Items
- VSU LSAMP Scholar Jasmine Freeman has been selected to participate in the 2023 Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Program at the SETI Institute in Mountain View, CA. There, along with a research mentor, Jasmine will analyze data to identify planets outside the solar system. Jasmine also won first place at the 2023 Southwest Georgia Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Summit Juried Poster Competition in Columbus. Read more about Jasmine Freeman's research award here.
- VSU LSAMP Scholar Airionna Fordham will become a SCI Scholar with an internship at Trinseo, a sustainable materials industry in Dalton, GA. The Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) Scholar Internship Program provides industrial internships for chemistry and chemical engineering undergraduates. Airionna was also awarded the Best Poster Overall in STEM Award at the 2023 VSU Symposium of Undergraduate Research Poster session. Ms. Fordham along with eight LSAMP Scholars presented their research as posters or in oral presentations this April 10-14, 2023. To read more about the 2023 URC's Undergraduate Research Symposium including the program, abstracts, and list of awards, click here.
- VSU LSAMP Scholar Jazmin Borges won the People’s Choice Award at the 2023 Southwest Georgia Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) Summit Juried Poster Competition in Columbus for her work with the endangered gopher tortoise. Click here to read more.
- Clarice Phelps, nuclear chemist at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory, visted with VSU Biology and Chemistry Students. Read more by clicking here.
- Dr. Patricia Bath, inventor of laserphaco and the first Black woman physician to receive a medical patent, will be posthumously inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame (NIHF). Read more about Dr. Bath and her accomplishments here. To view the entire list of 2022 NIHF inductees, click here.
- There are numerous Hispanic scientists that have made groundbreaking contributions to a wide variety of STEM fields. They may not yet be household names but they deserve recognition for the impact they've made within their respective disciplines. Click here to read more about these influential scientists.
- The faculty of VSU's Chemistry Department recorded a message for National Chemistry Week, celebrated the week of October 17th - 23rd, 2021. View the message by clicking here.
LSMRCE Newsletters
Additional Resources
Helpful Links:
VSU Undergraduate Research Council
Internships:
Department of Energy STEM Internships and Fellowships
Science Undergraduate Laboratory Internships (SULI)
Minority Serving Institutions Partnership Program (MSIPP)
Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship Program (MLEF)
Minority Access is recruiting undergraduate, graduate, and law students for its National Summer 2022 Internship Program. These internships are paid and are full-time positions (40 hours per week). Eligible candidates must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, be enrolled in a degree program at an accredited college or university, and must have at least a 3.0 GPA on a 4.0 scale. Referrals of qualified candidates with backgrounds in various business-related disciplines, computer science/IT, economics, public policy, personnel psychology, and law for positions in Washington, D.C., New York, NY, Charlotte, NC, Dallas, TX, Cincinnati, OH, San Francisco, CA, and other locations will begin February 25, 2022.
Referrals of other majors and other locations are expected to begin in March 2022. All majors are welcome to apply and resumes are accepted until all positions are filled. If you are a current student who meets these qualifications and are interested in applying, email your current resume and unofficial transcript to internships@minorityaccess.org. For more information, please contact the Minority Access, Inc. Internship Program Office at 301-779-7100.
Organizations and Institutions:
National Society of Black Engineers
Society for Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science
American Meteorological Society
VSU Support:
For help reviewing your resume or interview tips, contact Contact Career Services.
For help with posters and presentations, contact the Library's Media Center Department.
For bibliographic research and library questions, contact the Library.
For the Office of Institutional Research, click here.
For Grants and Contracts, visit the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research Administration.
For information about research compliance, contact the Institutional Review Board.
For travel procedures, visit Financial Services.
For the Office of Strategic Communications, click here.
For the Center for Excellence in Learning & Teaching, visit CELT.
This material is based upon work supported by the National Science Foundation under Grant Number (1817519).
Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation.
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Mailing Address
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Valdosta, GA 31698 - Phone: 229.333.5699