Tuesday, 04 26 2022

 A&M-SA graduate student to participate in American Society for Microbiology Future Leaders Mentoring Fellowship

SAN ANTONIO – Texas A&M University–San Antonio (A&M-SA) Master of Science in Biology student Ariel Robles has been selected to participate in the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) Future Leaders Mentoring Fellowship (FLMF). Selected by ASM and the Subcommittee on Minority Education, the fellowship supports senior undergraduate, postbaccalaureate, master's, and doctoral graduate students from underrepresented groups who demonstrate an interest in the microbial sciences and seek mentorship in navigating their career path. 

“I am so excited to be granted the fellowship to attend ASM Microbe. I am at an early stage in my research career, so this grants me the opportunity to network and receive mentoring from other researchers in my field,” said Robles. “It's an amazing opportunity not only for myself but also for my lab group and any other minority student who wants to pursue a career in research. I am excited for this next step in my research career.”   

Ariel currently serves as a student researcher in Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology Dr. Davida Smyth's microbiology lab at A&M-San Antonio. 

“The fellowship will allow Ariel to not only attend ASM Microbe and to meet and mingle with her peers but also provide invaluable access and mentoring to her at this early stage in her research career,” said Smyth. “It’s an amazing opportunity for her but also for our lab group which is composed of mostly underrepresented Hispanic undergraduate students who already look up to her.” 

The award package for the fellowship includes: 

• Complimentary registration and lodging to participate in ASM Microbe (June 9 – 13, 2022), held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington, D.C.;
• Participation in an ASM FLMF Symposium (June 8 – 9, 2022), held prior to the ASM Microbe meeting;
• Year-round mentoring with a team of mentors from various career sectors in microbiology;
• Engagement in online discussions and community building activities through the community platform, ASM Connect; and
• A complimentary 2023 ASM membership. 

In the first year of the fellowship, mentees are matched with a team of mentors and participate in skillset training, structured mentoring, community building, and networking activities at ASM Microbe, an annual meeting in the microbial sciences. In the second year, mentees become peer mentors to the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students (ABRCMS) undergraduate students in the microbiology discipline and serve as ABRCMS session moderators. In an optional third year, selected mentees are invited to serve as ASM mentoring ambassadors to incoming cohorts and ABRCMS judges.

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About Texas A&M University-San Antonio

Established as a stand-alone university in 2009, Texas A&M University-San Antonio is a comprehensive four-year public university that reflects the culturally diverse, heritage-rich community it serves. Situated on nearly 700 acres in south San Antonio, the University offers 33 undergraduate degrees and 16 graduate degrees to nearly 7,000 students. A&M-San Antonio is home to the Henry G. Cisneros Institute for Emerging Leaders and the Cyber Engineering Technology/Cyber Security Research Center. The University holds the Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) designation and is one of only 24 higher education institutions in the U.S. to have received the Seal of Excelencia certification from Excelencia in Education for its support of Latino student success. More than 75 percent of A&M-SA students identify as Hispanic, and 73 percent are the first in their family to attend college. A&M-San Antonio is a military-embracing institution; in 2020, Military Times ranked the University No. 35 in the nation for “Best for Vets: Colleges.” Visit tamusa.edu for more information. #onamission