PSU BUILD EXITO Celebrates Cohort 5 and Welcomes Many More with Summer Research Academy

By Arjun Viray

It has been a busy summer for BUILD EXITO!

Cohort 5 End of Year Celebration

This summer kicked off early in May with an end-of-year celebration for PSU BUILD EXITO’s Cohort 5 scholars. It marked the first in-person event for our program since before COVID-19. This was a  special celebration for Cohort 5, which is a unique group of scholars because they went through the program mostly remote and to have some students together in-person and on Zoom was great! 

Summer Research Academy

BUILD EXITO also helped host a new event at PSU called Summer Research Academy. Historically, this event served as an orientation for incoming BUILD EXITO scholars but this year’s  event was open to all students at PSU and in the BUILD EXITO program, as well as those at local colleges. The three-day, in-person  event was held on campus in June and had over 150 students in attendance! The goals of the academy were for participants to improve their understanding of research, increase their awareness of research opportunities, meet professionals and learn about career paths, professional development opportunities and other events related to research. 

BUILD EXITO collaborated with several other programs at PSU that offer research experiences for students.

During the three days, students heard from various researchers, students and alumni. Students were able to attend concurrent sessions and learn more details about individual programs and how they can apply. There were also additional sessions that covered topics like “A Day in the Life of a Researcher,” “Exploring and Developing Research Interests,” and “Introduction to Poster and Oral Research Presentations.” 

Shoutout to the many staff, faculty and alumni who helped put this large event together. The BUILD EXITO team wouldn’t have been able to do it without them!