To encourage diversity and careers in science, the Californian Shaman program provides high school students with research opportunities in multiple scientific disciplines and has been designed to afford lasting educational experiences that positively influence student professional development. Through a unique combination of hands-on laboratory experience and fieldwork, pre-college students engage in participant-directed projects that foster science self-efficacy and self-identification as scientists and provide the motivation and skills that enable students to have a careers in STEM disciplines.
Californian Shaman will expose precollege students to a number of scientific disciplines, ranging from botany to analytical chemistry to neuroscience. This will provide multiple opportunities for the students to connect with scientific disciplines to which the student may not have otherwise been introduced. Student involvement in research design and project ownership are encouraged with conducting experiments that are based on their own hypotheses and the plants they personally selected at the beginning of the program. Additionally, the research conducted by the students during Californian Shaman on the university campus and utilizing the UC Natural Reserves will persist into the future. The compounds derived from the students’ plant samples will be archived at the UCSD Center for Compound Resources (UCCR) for further examination using campus-wide screens. Because the students will be updated regarding new discoveries, investigations, and screens using their samples, including potential scientific discoveries involving agrochemicals to enhance drought tolerance or antiparasitc activity against neglected tropical diseases, a connection will be fostered between the individual students and cutting edge scientific discovery associated with ongoing research programs at UCSD.