Mentoring URS students: Our brief but spectacular take
Over the last four years, with my spouse as co-investigator, I have benefitted greatly from having outstanding Undergraduate Research Scholarship (URS) students on our team for two research projects supported by UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees program: one focused on improving the outcomes for Minnesota youths with HIV/AIDS and the second analyzing all the deaths and transitions (cremation, burial, both) in Minnesota over seven years. Our success was solely dependent on our students.
URS scholarships are offered by the University Admissions Office to prospective freshmen as part of the admissions award package. Those students who accept are awarded $1,700, half upon matriculation and the remainder after completing a mentored research project.
How does a retired faculty member recruit URS students? Simple; your research abstract is posted on the URS web site and students respond—rapidly.
After reviewing resumes and interviewing exciting candidates, we chose four students per PDGR project. With our mentoring, each student successfully developed a unique research project. Research Team meetings were held in the Campus Club, perfect for treating students to lunch as they were always hungry.
Mentoring URS students, of vastly different backgrounds, was a pleasure. All were incredibly bright and remarkably effective in getting the information and analysis needed for their projects.
Full of surprises
Our mentorship experience was more than just data management. URS students were full of surprises: one student from Romania had the best use of the English language we've ever encountered; another from Lebanon read a statistics book overnight and applied his learnings the next day.
Yes, a few students had a tough time adjusting to the University workload, and one immigrant student’s family needed help coping. But we did enjoy dinner with another student’s mother (a professor from the Middle East), and we marveled at the daily change in hair color of another superb student.
After many mentorship meetings, all our URS students successfully completed their research plans and presented outstanding posters at the Undergraduate Research Symposium. To date, three have been accepted for outstanding STEM graduate programs and one at the U of M Medical School.
What an incredible and satisfying relationship. Marcie and I would be delighted to discuss this mentoring opportunity with anyone interested.
—Jonathan I. Ravdin, MD, adjunct professor of medicine, and Marcie Christensen Ravdin, former Medical School administrator
News
The election of UMRA officers and new board members for 2024–25 will be conducted via an online poll from May 13 to 19, with the results to be announced at our annual meeting on May 21. Look for the ballot in your email inbox on May 13. Diane Young has been nominated to be president-elect.
“I convinced myself I could handle this problem without support groups or doing additional research, but that’s only because I didn’t want to make it any more real than it already was. Denial comes in many forms, and one is to avoid thinking about the problem any more than need be.” —Alice A. Larson
Meet UMRA member Peter Moe. He retired in 2023 after a career that spanned nearly half a century at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, and is credited with developing the “Arb” into one of the few in the U.S. with world-class fruit and landscape breeding programs.
The University Retirees Volunteer Center (URVC) has welcomed two new members with valuable skills and experience to the URVC Leadership Council: Lynn Slifer and Jeanne Jacobson.
The University plans to remove retirees from the @umn.edu internet identity domain on December 7. UMRA has advocated for ensuring continued access to this identity (including email, Google Workspace, and associated services), citing University retirees’ enduring contributions to and engagement with the University. Thus far, our efforts have not prompted any change of plans.
Leading the online Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays has been a labor of love for Kris Bettin. Alas, a change in family needs has necessitated her retirement. So, JOIE is seeking a new leader to join a savvy editorial committee of five and bring fresh ideas for continued development of the UMRA-sponsored journal.
If you’re looking for an opportunity to explore your photographic interests, hone your photographic skills, and hear what other retirees are up to, the UMRA Photo Club is a great place to be. We have fun! And whatever your skill level, there is room for everybody.
Soon you will receive an email or letter inviting you to renew your UMRA membership for the 2024–25 year. Please renew before you get busy with your summer activities. Your support helps to make our programs and many other member benefits possible!
This will be a new regular column where you can find organizational tasks that need your help! We are currently looking for help researching a new UMRA Membership Database and URVC volunteer database, and a co-producer for UMRA's Zoom webinars. See more details: