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Weekend to Do: Apply for Society of Wetland Scientists Mentoring Program Travel Fellowship

Application is open for undergraduate minority students to apply for travel award to attend the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Society of Wetland Scientists

This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American


The 2017 annual meeting of Society of Wetland Sciences will be held June 5-8, 2017 in San Juan Puerto Rico. And thanks to an amazing NSF sponsored program the society has been providing travel awards to undergraduate students from underrepresented groups for many years.

Any currently enrolled undergraduate student who meets the following eligibility parameters are encouraged to apply.

  • Citizens or permanent residents of the United States or its possessions.

  • Enrolled in a degree program (part-time or full-time) leading to a baccalaureate or associate degree. (Spring 2017 graduates are eligible; Fall 2016 graduates are not).  

  • Individuals who belong to one or more of the following groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in wetland sciences: Black/African Americans, Hispanics/Latinos, Native Americans, Indigenous Alaskans, Native Pacific Islanders (Hawaiian/Polynesian/Micronesian). 


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The official program is called: SWS Multicultural Mentoring Program (SWaMMP)

Credit: SOCIETY FOR WETLAND SCIENTISTS

SWaMMP is dedicated to increasing diversity in the field of wetland science by offering undergraduate students from underrepresented groups full travel awards to the SWS 2017 Annual Meeting, held June 5 - 8 in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Student winners will receive valuable career mentoring as well as exposure to professional networking forums. This program is supported by the National Science Foundation and several SWS Chapters.

Awardees not only get an amazing professional development and networking opportunity, they also get a chance to attend a professional science conference will all conference related and travel expenses paid. Plus, they get membership in SWS for one year following the award.​

Check out this promotional flyer, or visit the Multicultural Mentoring Program webpage to learn more. 

Have questions? Contact Dr. Vanessa Lougheed 

Deadline to apply is Friday, November 4, 2016.

Here's what you need to do.

Start your application this weekend.

What you will need:

1. Your current Scholar resume or CV. This is your current list of academic activities and college service activities. Strong emphasis on your science scholarship and interest.

2. An interest letter explaining your long term interests in ecology and science research.

3. Name and contact information AND a letter of recommendation from your current faculty advisor or science mentor. Your mentor will email his/her letter of support separately, but you will need to request your letter before the application deadline. Plus, I highly recommend sharing your complete application with your faculty mentor so that she/he can review it and reference your accolades in the letter.

Start your application this weekend. By Monday you should request a letter of support from 1-3 faculty mentors and provide your draft of of the application and your scholar resume. Kindly request their feedback on your application and ask them complete and submit the letter of support in 1-2 weeks (by November 2)

Click here to apply to SWaMMP

Finally, check in with me and let me know how it is going. Best of luck.

Dr. DNLee

DNLee is a biologist and she studies animal behavior, mammalogy, and ecology . She uses social media, informal experiential science experiences, and draws from hip hop culture to share science with general audiences, particularly under-served groups.

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