Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** there is growing evidence of the…

Awards issued prior to january 20, 2025, were funded under previous administrations and may not reflect the priorities and policies of the current administration.** there is growing evidence of the importance of a healthcare workforce that is ethnically diverse and representative of the communities IT serves. However, there is little diversity in the field of nutrition and food science, especially within higher paying occupations that require extensive education and training. Students from historically underrepresented communities have lower retention and graduation rates in nutrition and food science programs because they may not know about career pathways and/or may get discouraged by the lengthy time, cost, and science-heavy curriculum. The goals of the proposed project are to: (1) increase awareness among high school and community college students to careers and educational pathways in nutrition and food science; (2) increase recruitment and retention of high school and community college students within nutrition and food science programs; (3) improve transfer rates from community colleges to 4-year university nutrition and food science programs; and (4) improve retention and graduation rates for underrepresented csun nutrition and food science students.project goals will be achieved through: (a) outreach at local high schools and LOS angeles mission college; (B) development of a fellowship program for csun undergraduate and graduate nutrition and food science students; (C) incorporation of servsafe® certification into csun's nutrition and food science curriculum; and (D) development and incorporation of culinary arts skills and competencies into csun's nutrition and food science curriculum. The fellowship program will provide participating students with financial assistance, experiential learning opportunities with community partners and USDA agencies, peer mentorship, and other supports. Over 4 years, a total of 3,500 high school students and 1,000 community college students will participate in outreach presentations; 40 csun dietetics interns will be recruited and trained as peer mentors; 10 csun nutrition and food science faculty will be recruited and trained as faculty mentors. Finally, 60 undergraduate and 40 graduate csun nutrition and food science students will be selected as fellows, receiving scholarships, peer and faculty mentorship, research assistantship, career coaching and other student support services.