Scholars Transforming Through Research (STR):
Council on Undergraduate Research’s Advocacy Program
November 2024 – March 2025
Online + Washington DC
Congratulations to our newly accepted class of 2024-2025 STR participants.
Read more in our press release.
The STR Program is a valuable resource for translating undergraduate research into comprehensible language while also communicating the impact, potential impact, and opportunities this research can have outside the classroom walls. 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.
The STR program will begin with an online orientation and training session on November 15, 2024. Once-a-month online training sessions will continue in December, January, and February. The final mandatory training session will take place on March 2-3, 2025, in the Washington, DC area. This in-person meeting will include meetings with stakeholders and congressional representatives.
The first four training sessions happen online. The final and mandatory session will take place in the Washington, DC area.
Washington DC Training Location:
Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel
900 South Orme Street
Arlington, VA, 22204
Rate: $152 + tax
Online Booking Link
STR Program Timeline and Details
ACTIVITY | DATE |
Submission Window Opens | June 20, 2024 |
Submission Window Closes | Sept. 20, 2024 |
Submission Notifications Sent & Registration Opens | Oct. 7, 2024 |
Registration Closes | Nov. 4, 2024 |
Online Training Session #1 & Orientation* Getting Inspired, Setting Goals The training introduces how research is used in policymaking and what informs policymakers’ day-to-day decision-making. The workshop emphasizes that there is no single way to be a publicly engaged scholar and demonstrates the different roles researchers can play in the policy arena. Participants will learn more about their peers’ aspirations for policy impact. *Note: The 30-minute orientation includes introductions, a program overview, and some pieces in which mentors and students will be separated. | Nov. 15, 2024 2:30-4:00 PM ET |
Online Training Session #2 Connecting and Building Relationships with Policymakers This training will give scholars an introduction to when and how policymakers use research and how researchers can increase the likelihood their work is used in the policymaking process. It also gives students evidence-based instructions for how to begin and maintain productive relationships with policymakers, how to engage with civic intermediaries in order to better reach policymakers, and what strategies are critical for creating mutual trust. | Dec. 6, 2024 2:30-3:30 PM ET |
Online Training Session #3 Op-ed Writing and Pitching This workshop is for students who want to learn how to write and pitch compelling, research-based op-eds. Participants will learn how to craft a good lede, incorporate timely news hooks, signal the author’s relevant expertise, increase the likelihood of publication, and structure an oped for maximum impact. They will also be guided through shaping their idea into a first draft. | Jan. 17, 2025 2:30-4:00 PM ET |
STR Hotel Cut-off Online Booking Link | Feb. 3, 2025 |
Online Training Session #4 Policy Brief Writing This workshop is for scholars who want to learn how to write compelling and jargon-free policy briefs. Participants move through each step of the policy brief drafting process and actively shape their ideas into a first draft. The workshop includes practical information on how to distribute your policy brief for maximum impact. | Feb. 7, 2025 2:30-4:00 PM ET |
Onsite Training Session #5 Communicating Your Research on Capitol Hill & Media Interviews and Building Relationships with Reporters 12:30-1:00 PM ET Arrivals + Badge Pick Up 1:00 – 4:45 PM ET Training – Communicating Your Research on Capitol Hill This will be an interactive workshop where participants will gain the knowledge and tools to help them have the most impactful and effective meetings with staff on the Hill. The workshop will outline how Hill meetings typically go, give you tips and strategies to maximize your effectiveness in them, and the best practices for following up after the meeting. In addition, we will have time to practice what you’d like to say in the meeting. – Media Interviews & Building Relationships with Reporters This workshop is for students who are looking to begin media work and need advice on how to prepare for interviews and build relationships with members of the media. Participants will learn how to respond when a journalist calls, communicate their research clearly, identify what reporters are looking for in interviews, maintain media relationships, and build on any previous media work. 5:00 – 6:00 PM ET Networking Reception | March 2, 2025 |
STR: HIll Visits 8:30-10:00 AM ET Networking Breakfast with Association Guests + Partners 10:30 – 3:00 PM ET Scheduled Meetings at Capitol Hill 3:00 PM ET Departures | March 3, 2025 |
STR: Graduates Emailed Electronic Badges and Certificates | March 5, 2025 |
Registration Rates for STR 2024-25*
Team of 2 | Team of 3 | Team of 4 | |
Member | $590 | $840 | $1,060 |
Nonmember | $650 | $925 | $1,168 |
* Registration closes on November 4, 2024.
FAQs
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.
The In-person training will take place on March 2, 2025 with visits with representatives on Capitol Hill on March 3. The meeting, and suggested lodging, will take place at the Sheraton Pentagon City Hotel (900 South Orme Street, Arlington, VA, 22204).
If booking with Delta Airlines, use meeting code NY3E4.
If booking with Southwest Airlines, use company ID number 99318833.
If booking with United Airlines, use promo code ZPVQ286327.
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.
For questions, event information, etc. please email CUR@CUR.org.
Please review our Events Policies and Procedures.
STR Graduates
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 | Middle Tennessee State University
- 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