The Legacy of PSU BUILD EXITO: Q&A with leaders and mentors
By Arjun Viray
Over the last 10 years, several cohorts of students have been supported by a vast network of BUILD EXITO mentors and staff at Portland State University (PSU) and partner sites such as the University of Alaska Anchorage, Northern Marianas Community College (NMC), American Samoa Community College, Portland Community College, Clark Community College, and Clackamas College.
With the support of mentors and staff, 115 BUILD EXITO students have gone on to complete graduate or doctoral degrees at esteemed institutions like Harvard University, University of California Berkeley, Northwestern University, and Purdue University. Other BUILD EXITO students have entered successful careers in the biomedical field contributing to the research field and supporting communities they care about.
BUILD EXITO mentors and staff reflected on the positive impacts of BUILD EXITO, lessons learned across the years and the lasting legacy of their work.
Jen Lindwall, PhD, BUILD EXITO Co-Inverstigator at Portland State University
Q: What is something positive that's happened as a result of the BUILD program?
A: So many amazing things have happened as a result of BUILD! At PSU, since we started BUILD EXITO a decade ago, I've seen an actual campus-wide change in how undergraduate research is seen and celebrated. Now that faculty and staff have seen hundreds of undergraduate researchers on their teams, I feel like there is a consistent conversation about how to better engage students in these environments and support them on their pathways.
It truly feels like the work has paid off and had a meaningful and lasting impact.
Q: What is the most meaningful lesson you learned from supporting the BUILD program?
A: It is hard to choose just one thing because the truth is, I've learned so much over the last 10 years and I'm still learning every day.
I think one thing that sticks out is that there is both an individual and systemic set of factors that are making it challenging for many students to persist on biomedical research pathways in higher education. In everything we do, we need to work with individual students to support them but we need to always be working to transform the systemic challenges that impact students as well.
Jen Lindwall, PhD
Q: What do you hope will be the legacy of your work?
A: Ultimately, I want the same thing that most of us want. To see a diverse and dynamic biomedical research workforce that can tackle the challenging problems of today and tomorrow. This is obviously a huge goal and one that BUILD cannot single-handedly accomplish. However, I have seen our students go from their first year of college all the way through their PHD who are now making meaningful contributions to their fields.
This gives me hope that the world we want to live in is emerging and the BUILD program played a significant role in reshaping the future generation of researchers.
Alissa Leavitt, MPH, BUILD EXITO Lead at Portland Community College
Alissa Leavitt, MPH
Q: What is something positive that's happened as a result of the BUILD program?
A: The impactful research conducted by students. This research not only contributed to academic knowledge but also had practical implications for addressing health inequalities in underserved communities.
Q: What is the most meaningful lesson you learned from supporting the BUILD program?
A: The power of mentorship and fostering a supportive environment for underrepresented students. Witnessing the growth and success of students reaffirms the importance of providing resources, guidance, and encouragement to aspiring researchers from diverse backgrounds.
Q: What do you hope will be the legacy of your work?
A: I hope the legacy of the program will be twofold: to empower students to become leaders in biomedical research, driving positive change in their communities, and to foster a culture of inclusivity and equity in the field, inspiring future generations to embrace diversity and pursue their passions.
Marissa Kellogg, MD, MPH, BUILD EXITO Research Mentor
Q: What is something positive that's happened as a result of the BUILD program?
A: So many amazing things have happened as a result of BUILD! At PSU, since we started BUILD EXITO a decade ago, I've seen an actual campus-wide change in how undergraduate research is seen and celebrated. Now that faculty and staff have seen hundreds of undergraduate researchers on their teams, I feel like there is a consistent conversation about how to better engage students in these environments and support them on their pathways. It truly feels like the work has paid off and had a meaningful and lasting impact.
Q: What is the most meaningful lesson you learned from supporting the BUILD program?
A: Mentorship is critical. I’ve always valued my own mentors, but EXITO/BUILD gave me the opportunity to be a mentor to students I otherwise would not have met or connected with. BUILD/EXITO tackled the logistical/paperwork/funding obstacles to getting students access to research who normally don’t have access to these opportunities (because of those obstacles). Unfortunately, as a busy clinician-researcher, I don’t have the time or administrative support to do that critical time-intensive legwork to get promising people in the door – and I really appreciate all that BUILD/EXITO has done to facilitate that.
Marissa Kellogg, MD, MPH, BUILD EXITO Research Mentor
Q: What is something positive that's happened as a result of the BUILD program?
A: So many amazing things have happened as a result of BUILD! At PSU, since we started BUILD EXITO a decade ago, I've seen an actual campus-wide change in how undergraduate research is seen and celebrated. Now that faculty and staff have seen hundreds of undergraduate researchers on their teams, I feel like there is a consistent conversation about how to better engage students in these environments and support them on their pathways. It truly feels like the work has paid off and had a meaningful and lasting impact.
Q: What is the most meaningful lesson you learned from supporting the BUILD program?
A: Mentorship is critical. I’ve always valued my own mentors, but EXITO/BUILD gave me the opportunity to be a mentor to students I otherwise would not have met or connected with. BUILD/EXITO tackled the logistical/paperwork/funding obstacles to getting students access to research who normally don’t have access to these opportunities (because of those obstacles). Unfortunately, as a busy clinician-researcher, I don’t have the time or administrative support to do that critical time-intensive legwork to get promising people in the door – and I really appreciate all that BUILD/EXITO has done to facilitate that.
Marissa Kellogg, MD, MPH
Q: What do you hope will be the legacy of your work?
A: More students and graduates choose to make science and health care their career. Fresh insights into the advancement of science. I really hope programs like this will continue so that we can recruit more amazing students into STEM, or at least give them a firm background in scientific inquiry.
Future mentor opportunities to serve students after BUILD EXITO
Even though the BUILD EXITO program is coming to an end, teams across PSU and partner sites have been able to look forward to new opportunities to continue serving students interested in research.
The team of mentors and staff at PSU have been able to create lasting change through the creation of a new hub for undergraduate research through the Center for Internship, Mentoring, and Research (CIMR).
A team at NMC has started the PROA Pathways program, a cooperative arrangement between the NMC and PSU under the U.S. Department of Education’s Asian American Native American Pacific Islanders Serving Institutions (AANAPISI) grant to support Asian American and Pacific Islander students as they graduate from NMC and transfer to PSU.
And at University of Alaska Anchorage, a team has started a URISE program providing biomedical research training for undergraduates.
The Diversity Program Consortium Coordination and Evaluation Center at UCLA is supported by Office of the Director of the National Institutes of Health / National Institutes of General Medical Sciences under award number U54GM119024.
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