STR Program

The STR Program is a valuable resource for teaching your undergraduate research students communication tools for translating research into understandable language while also communicating the impact, potential impact, and opportunities this research can have. Participants will serve as CUR Advocacy Ambassadors and learn how to advocate for the impact of research with media contacts, community members, funding agencies, and governmental representatives.

The STR Program serves as a advocacy professional development opportunity for undergraduate students and faculty/mentors interested in garnering communication and advocacy skills to leverage the impact of their undergraduate research experience by conveying their story to stakeholder groups such as funding agencies, association partners, elected officials, future employers, community, and beyond. Topics to be covered are listed below.

The cost of the program is broken down below. This includes the online training sessions and the required in-person training and Capital Hill visits in March 2025, however, travel and lodging to Washington, DC are an additional expense.

This program will provide an opportunity for institutional teams to apply. Teams must consist of a campus representative team lead – faculty or mentor – and up to three undergraduate research students who are currently enrolled in or have previously completed an undergraduate research experience. Each team member will be involved in all aspects of the training provided. There is no need for each member of the team to share disciplines, however, each team member must choose a discipline they are individually representing when applying.

This program will kick off with an online orientation and the first of four training sessions. Monthly online training sessions will happen in December, January, and February. The final training session in March will be in person in the Washington, DC area and will be followed by in-person congressional meetings.

Team can apply between June 20, 2024 and before September 20, 2024. Notifications will be sent out in early October 2024. Please see further details in the Deadlines Locations chart below.

The first four training sessions happen online. The final and mandatory session will take place in the Washington, DC area. Please note the dates and locations listed in the Deadlines Locations chart below.

Alabama | University of North Alabama

• Helena Heiberger
• Hanna Jefcoat
• Cynthia Stenger
• Scarlett Swinea

Arizona | Northern Arizona University

• Jose G. Moreno
• Sophia Zuniga

Arkansas | Arkansas State University

• Maureen Dolan
• Paige Fithen
• Drew Fleming
• Mishka Jeevan
• Landon Rogers
• Hannah Seats
• Emilio Soriano Chavez
• Carli Tackett

California | California Polytechnic State University – San Luis Obispo

• Yumi Aguilar
• Jay Bettergarcia
• Chenin Gelera
• Amrit Pradhan

California | California State Polytechnic University

• Subodh Bhandari
• Hetkumar Ghadia

California | California State University – Fullerton

• Bazil Alvarez
• Megan Liang
• Jatin Mahey
• Ankita Mohapatra

California | University of California – Los Angeles

• Taylor Gomez-Douglas
• Kelly Kistner
• Madison Lee
• Citlali Tejada

Florida | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

• Skylar Butler
• Benjamin Chaback

Georgia | Kennesaw State University

• Daniel Farr
• Hannah Walden

Georgia | Mercer University

• Sarah Bauer
• Xzavier Longacre
• Anna Ruth Madera

Georgia | Piedmont University

• Shay Bataille
• Addie Bowen
• Julia Schmitz
• Imani Vincent

Louisiana | Southeastern Louisiana University

• Justin Anderson
• Victoria Debarbieris
• Kolby Sheets
• Breanna Statum

Maine | Jackson Laboratory

• Cayson Hamilton
• Laura Muller
• Elisa Saint-Denis
• Michelle Seeler

Maryland | Towson University

• Sumra Chaudhry
• Eber Guzman-Cruz
• Dajaha Kenney
• John Weldon

Nebraska | University of Nebraska at Omaha

• Alice McQueney
• Suzanne Sollars
• Gavin Toews
• Brandon Villanueva Sanchez

New Hampshire | Southern New Hampshire University

• Crystal Bickford
• Ester Mills

New York | Marist College

• Megan Dennis
• Maggie Gravano
• Chelsea Venters
• Ryan Wise

New York | St. John Fisher University

• Charly Campanella
• Zachary Murphy
• Kristina Wilson

New York | SUNY Geneso

• Kodjo Adabra
• Genesis Flores
• Jessica Gilbert-Overland
• Seynha Jean Coute
• Olaocha Nwabara
• Arianna Whittaker
• Nora Whorton

New York | University of Rochester

• Emily Rendek
• Lilli Tamm
• Stephanie Wang

Ohio | Baldwin Wallace University

• Jeff Dusek
• Nicole Schwartz
• Julia Stein

Ohio | Ohio State University

• Zach Hooten
• Ray Mathew-Santhosham
• Erin Murray
• Kamorah Ryhlick

Pennsylvania | Millersville University

• Kylie Calogero
• Ty Geiger
• Tatiana Pashkova-Balkenhol
• Sarah Qundes
• Sydney Rauchut
• Julissa Rodriguez
• Carrie Smith

Tennessee | Lipscomb University

• Maryam Gerges
• Leah Jacobs
• Joshua Owens
• Chad Phan
• Abby Powell
• Amanda Williams
• Edmund Zhu

Tennessee | Middle Tennessee State University

• Mina Abdulkareem
• Jamie Burriss
• Brooke Busbee

Tennessee | Milligan University

• Maxwell Brown
• Hailey Hetzler
• Thomas Johnson
• Kristen Mudrack

Tennessee | University of Tennessee

• Peyton Caroline Crates
• Vermont Dia
• Naylen Bryce McKenzie

Tennessee | Vanderbilt University

• Alex Becker
• Madison Roy

Texas | Lamar University

• Nathan Abalos
• Ian Lian
• Morgan Luke
• Zaid Mohammed

Texas | McLennan Community College

• April Andreas
• Gisela Delfin
• Lum Kari
• Paloma Pena

Texas | University of Texas – Permian Basin

• Alexandria Bell
• Sarah Cho

Utah | Utah Sate University

• Cristina Chirvasa
• Matteo Petit Bon

Virginia | Hampden-Sydney College

• Connor Eickelman
• Luis Meza
• Andrew Winans
• Michael Wolyniak

Virginia | Radford University

• Ashley Glover
• Sekyung Jang
• Stockton Maxwell
• Mira Smith

Wisconsin | Madison Area Technical College

• Stephanie Beckman
• Robyn Deters
• Nikki Luck
• Danica Washington

Alabama | Auburn University

• Emma Fisher
• Kelli Thompson
• Cameron Tice

Alabama | University of Alabama at Birmingham

• Rachael George
• Ali McDearmond
• Despina Stavrinos

Alabama | University of North Alabama

• Olivia Morris
• Cynthia Stenger
• Luke Terwilliger

Arizona | Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

• Clarissa Pavao
• Noel Richardson
• Amanda Zhu

Arizona | Northern Arizona University

• Yesenia Cruz Carrillo
• James Ingram
• Jose Moreno
• Laila Puga
• Ashley Root
• Julie Seeker

California | California State Polytechnic University

• Subodh Bhandari
• Eve Javier
• Stanley Ossyra

California | California State University at Fullerton

• Abigail Anastasi
• Gerardo Avila
• Nandini Bhakta
• Heather Franson
• William Hoese
• Azeem Horani
• Alice Lee
• Pauline Lim
• Montana Mellody
• Ankita Mohapatra
• Gerardo Robledo
• Anthony Ruiz
• Ying-Chiao Tsao
• Joshua Yang

California | Chapman University

• Veronica Ayvazian
• Madison Beltran
• Lorena Munoz
• Dakota Piorkowski
• Karen Rojas Valencia
• Adam Sanders
• Ramesh Singh
• Richelle Tanner
• Damien Weigner

California | Charles Drew University of Medicine and Science

• Amal Hassan
• Katreena Marie Rago

California | Pasadena City College

• Taneeka Anand
• Jared Ashcroft
• Wing Yu

California | Pepperdine University

• Khanh Bui
• Jackson Gieger
• Eunji Shin

Delaware | University of Delaware

• Lauren Barsky
• Stacy Mahiga
• Rebecca Metellus

Florida | Stetson University

• Danielle Lindner
• Andrea Mingo

Florida | University of Florida

• Alexandra Kearns
• Marina Klimenko 
• Amy Pezoldt

Georgia | Augusta University

• Daria Ilatovskaya
• Adam Jones

Georgia | Georgia College and State University

• Anne Elise Beals
• Stefanie Sevcik

Georgia | Mercer University

• Anthony Choi
• Ethan Choi
• Caden Hamrick 

Idaho | Boise State University

• Nicolas Diaz
• Melissa Ogle
• Stacey Pedraza

Illinois | University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign

• Achal Anand
• Connor Barnes
• Stefan Djordjevic
• Holly Golecki
• Jaylynn Kim
• Abigail McDonnell n
• Katelynn Ohk
• Sara Pedron-Haba
• Jaydeep Pillai
• Christian Proistosescu

Indiana | Purdue University

• Megha Anwer
• Emily Cahue
• Harris Collins
• Mariah Mendoza
• Victor Mosqueda
• Olanrewaju Sodunke
• Jason Ware
• Mia Yates

Kentucky | Morehead State University

• Charlotte Gabbard
• Emmalou Schmittzehe

Massachusetts | Simmons University

• Debora Edouard
• Jennifer Roecklein-Canfield
• Grace Solomon

Massachusetts | Smith College

• Amalia Allen
• Shannon Audley
• Kelly Tran

Michigan | Michigan State University

• Andrew Kearney
• Alexandra Lee
• Vanessa McCaffrey
• Lexi Nadolsky
• Dorothy Zhao

Minnesota | St. Olaf College

• Mikayla Carlson
• Mackenzie Farrell
• Norman Lee

Minnesota | University of Minnesota at Duluth

• Johannah Belk
• Rebecca Gilbertson
• Sierra Swenson

New Jersey | New Jersey City University

• Moitrayee Chatterjee
• Shuhaybou Mbow
• Abderrahman Wahni

New Mexico | University of New Mexico

• Crystal Cevering
• Allison Kilpatrick
• Sara Pichette

New York | Marist College

• Emma Butzler
• Zion Klos
• Carli Piertra

New York | Pace University

• Maria Iacullo-Bird
• James Kennedy

New York | SUNY Geneseo

• Kodjo Adabra
• Yarold Bautista Martinez
• Gaetan Jean Louis
• Olaocha Nwabara

New York | University of Rochester

• Zhen Bai
• Merritt Cahoon

North Carolina | Wake Tech Community College

• Quin Anderson
• Carrie Hoffman
• Kevin Reza Villa

North Dakota | Minot State University

• Courtney Chatburn
• Hannah Murray
• John Webster

Ohio | Miami University

• Joyce Fernandes
• Cece Meinking
• Maddie Webber

Oklahoma | Northeastern State University

• Jonathon Stallings
• Viktoria Stallings
• Elizabeth Waring

Oklahoma | Oklahoma State University

• Ali Atis
• Christopher Crick
• Luis Vazquez

Oklahoma | Southern Nazarene University

• Caio Franca
• Jhonathan Guerrero
• Tiya Mitchell

Oregon | Portland State University

• Nihar Koppolu
• Amy Lin
• Nancy MacKenzie
• Carolyn Quam
• Natalie Robison
• Christof Teuscher

Pennsylvania | Moravian University

• Sarah Johnson
• Gwen Kester

South Carolina | Furman University

• Alex Bussom
• Neci Harris
• Brandon Inabinet

Tennessee

• Jamie Burriss
• Luke Gormsen
• Saman Kittani

Tennessee | Vanderbilt University

• Kim Unertl
• Kassandra Jutis

Texas | Austin College

• Lance Barton
• Hannah Herron
• Cassandra Silva Salas

Texas | Sam Houston State University

• Brooke Brown
• Kate Chandler
• Kelbi Delaune
• Diana Olivares
• Nate Rodriguez
• Amanda Scarbrough
• Mariah Jade Zimpfer

Texas | Texas A&M University at Kingsville

• Joaquin Haces-Garcia
• Hua Li
• Juan Zambrano

Texas | Texas Woman’s University

• Catherine Campen
• DiAnna Hynds

Texas | University of North Texas

• Rose Baker
• Tingkai Guan

Texas | University of Texas at Rio Grande Valley

• Mario Gil
• Truc Le
• Kristi Lopez 

Utah | Utah State University

• Jaxon Didericksen
• Kylee Tidwell
• Jayme Walters

Utah | Utah Valley University

• Yang Huo
• Harsh Soni

Virginia | James Madison University

• Alysia Davis
• Reggie Wilcox

Virginia | Longwood University

• Antonio Harvey
• Jammie McMurtry
• Sarah Porter

Virginia | Radford University Carilion

• Chet Bhatta
• Christopher Blankenship

The submission window will open June 20, 2024. Submissions need to be received by September 20, 2024.

There will be various portions on the application for each team member to fill out/answer. Only one application per team must be submitted. Any teammate (faculty/mentor or student) can submit as long as all names on the submission agree to participate in all of the training and events listed in the program.

Membership for the team is based on the membership status of the mentor or campus rep. The mentor or campus rep can hold an individual or institutional membership. This individual will be responsible for registering the team if the team is accepted.

Each team must consist of one/two/three students and one team lead/campus representative from their institution. This faculty/mentor will be categorized as “Campus Representative” on the application. A team lead can be any campus representative that is overseeing or involved in overseeing student work. Examples would include a graduate student, a program director, professor, mentor, or other faculty personnel. There can only be one team lead for up to three undergraduate research students. An individual cannot be a team lead for more than one team/group. The team lead will be very hands-on and involved in all aspects of completing the training.

Teams must consist of one campus representative and up to a max of three student researchers.

Students can be at any level in their undergraduate career (first-year to senior). Research projects do not have to be fully complete to apply, but student researchers should either be currently enrolled and/or have completed at least one undergraduate research experience. The undergraduate research experience can be from a variety of types (e.g. CUREs, independent research project with traditional mentor/mentee, research group experience such as summer research, etc.). Campus representative should ensure student researchers have enough substantive experience with research experiences to convey the impact of their experiences.

Yes. More than one group may apply from the an institution, however, the same campus representative cannot be listed on multiple applications.

This program is focused on teaching presentation techniques and advocacy for undergraduate research in general. Because of this, teams can consist of cross disciplinary participants as this program will not focus on disciplinary/project specific presentations.

No. The institution nor the faculty/mentors or students need to be members of CUR to participate in this advocacy program.

Non-US Citizens can apply; however, the advocacy strategies that will be shared are US focused. Because of this, this program may not be as beneficial to some students that are non-US Citizens or don’t have plans to remain in the US. If you decide to proceed, when filling out the application where it asks for the students “congressional district”, please have them use the district for the university. When asked about the voting district, the student should select “N/A”.

Yes. The in-person training and hill visits taking place in early March 2025 is required for all team members, including the Campus Representative to attend.

These details, including deadlines, hotel rates, and location will be released in June 2024.

There will be four training webinars (approximately 1.5 hours each and recorded for those not able to attend the live sessions), an in-person training and Hill visits in early March (6.5 hours each day), plus any prep time dedicated to completing the activities suggested in the training sessions.

The fee for the program will be posted in June and depends on if you are a member vs a nonmember and a two-person team, three-person team, or four-person team.

Yes as long as they are anticipated to graduate in 2024 or beyond and are either currently enrolled in an undergraduate research experience or have completed an undergraduate research experience during their tenure as an undergraduate student.

No. Please make every effort to submit a complete and accurate submission.

We will follow the standard Cancellation and Substitution Policies listed on our Events Policies and Procedures.