UA Student Dev: Rising Stars Program for AI/AN Students at UArizona

Rising Stars Program Project Summary/Abstract The Rising Stars program is for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students at the University of Arizona and high school students on Arizona reservations and urban high schools. It is a Student Career Enhancement Program in response to the Native American Research Centers for Health XII and a collaboration with the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona (ITCA) implemented at the University of Arizona. The Rising Stars program is community driven, culturally informed science delivered through a mobile lab partnership on reservation, to educate, elevate Tribal research capacity and empower Tribal communities. The program will Increase health science research literacy with UA AIAN students and within Tribal communities and AZ high schools. The program aims to build the health science literacy and capacity in Tribal and AI communities by: (1) developing science curriculum based in Indigenous knowledge; (2) partnering with a well-established mobile science education program to deliver the curriculum on reservation through drop-in science education labs; (3) implementing a science ambassador’s program for AIAN college students (4) developing community driven, Tribe-specific HSTEM education programs including after-school and citizen science programs.