Position/title
Field Assistant, Connecting the past, present, and future of Alaska Peninsula communities
Dates of Internship
Fieldwork: May 22nd to July 29th, 2022 (dates are somewhat flexible)
Cohort Experience: Monthly webinars April – December 2022
Principal Investigator (PI)/Designated Mentor:
The assistant will be mentored by this project’s two female leads, Laura Stelson and Crissy Phillips who are early career professionals in the fields of Anthropology and Archaeology at Katmai National Park. The project leads have been working seasonally in this project area for the last six years, but are not local to the community. Ongoing mentorship beyond the end of the field season may take place from the PI’s academic home institution at Penn State University.
Summary of STEM Field Assistant Program
The National Geographic STEM Field Assistant Program seeks to identify highly motivated upper-level undergraduate students or recent graduates from underrepresented or marginalized groups interested in pursuing STEM careers. The program provides hands-on experience to help the student (the “Field Assistant”) build a network of peers and senior scientists who can mentor them and give them the confidence and support to advance in their chosen field. Field Assistants will have an opportunity to be partnered with a Principal Investigator from the National Geographic Explorer community who will serve as a mentor during 8-10 weeks of field research between May – August 2022. Along with the field research, Field Assistants will attend monthly webinars hosted by National Geographic and led by additional members of the National Geographic Explorer community. Webinars will be focused on information or skills needed to succeed in STEM disciplines such as research project design, graduate school applications, and science communication. Recruitment will focus on students local to the country where the fieldwork is taking place and preference will be given to first-generation university students, which we define as students who are the first person in their immediate family to attend university. The Field Assistants will commit to approximately 8-10 weeks of fieldwork between May – August 2022, a series of webinars from May – December 2022, and a grant writing workshop in late 2022. National Geographic will cover field expenses and offer a U.S. $4,000 scholarship to those in the program.