ROOT & SHOOT Travel Awards
We’re happy to share that we received a significant number of applications for the 2026 conference season! Student and mentor pairs, at least one of whom must be a member of SACNAS, AISES, or MANRRS, will receive a $3000 award ($4000 for international conferences) to attend the Maize Meeting, ICAR, Plant Biology, or Botany.
We plan to review the applications in January and announce the awardees in early February, pending an update from the NSF regarding our 2026 budget.
Social Identity Matters in Mentoring (SI-MI Mentoring) Program
We have recently wrapped up beta testing the program curriculum and will be continuing to revise it using their feedback early next year. The curriculum covers topics such as color-evasive practices in academia, engaging in impactful mentor-mentee conversations, shifting from a deficit-based to an asset-based mindset, intersectionality, and developing greater cultural awareness. The program involves some independent pre-work followed by seven biweekly 90-minute small group facilitated online meetings.
Our plan is to host the curriculum live later in 2026 for all those who want to participate.
Exhibiting at SACNAS NDiSTEM
ROOT & SHOOT exhibited at the SACNAS NDiSTEM Conference October 30 – November 1 in Columbus, Ohio.
Staffing the booth were ROOT & SHOOT Co-PI Crispin Taylor and two student volunteers: Marge Poma Alarcon and Andrea Sama. They spoke to attendees about the RCN and participating societies, opportunities to get involved such as the ROOT & SHOOT Travel Awards for SACNAS members, and shared their enthusiasm for plant science.
You can read more about Marge’s experience at SACNAS in her blog post here.
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