A CAHSI Student Scholar (CAHSI Scholar) is a student who exemplifies a spirit of tech exploration, inclusiveness, and community. For this round, CAHSI invites Latina undergraduate students who are pursuing a degree in a computing field and who have demonstrated exceptional achievement in technical knowledge and service to the community to apply for this recognition. The 2020 cohort of CAHSI Scholars will be announced at the GMiS Conference in September/October 2020. Interested applicants should first read all content regarding this program. There is a three-step process for the CAHSI Latina 2020 selection round:

1. CAHSI faculty members from alliance institutions are encouraged to submit online nominations of undergraduate Latina students who have been involved with CAHSI for at least 1 year. The student’s résumé is required as part of this online submission as well as a 300-word endorsement by the nominating faculty member. You are encouraged to submit nominations sooner rather than later so that selected students have more time to submit their essay.

2. The CAHSI Backbone will undertake an initial review of nominations and selected students will be invited to submit an essay.

3. The essay, résumé, and nomination form will be reviewed by a selection committee representing academia and industry. Finalists may be invited to a virtual interview.

In order to be considered as a CAHSI Scholar, one should demonstrate excellence in four core areas: professional development, scholarly achievements, community outreach, and co-curricular or extracurricular activities. Past accomplishments and future plans/strategies for progress in these areas should complement CAHSI’s stated goals and vision.

GMiS Conference: Students who are interested in the scholars’ program are highly encouraged to sign up for the Female-Focused Sessions organized by CAHSI during the GMiS Conference (Session #1 is on 09-28 at 12 pm MT and Session #2 is on 10-05 at 12pm MT). The CAHSI Backbone has some funds to support women interested in the Latina Student Scholars Program and the GMiS conference. Please contact Andrea Tirres and Claudia Casas for more information.

Student Scholars Agreement: Student Scholars must sign an agreement with CAHSI indicating their commitment to serve as a CAHSI Scholar. This agreement affirms their commitment during the 2020-2021 academic year to:

1. Attend and contribute to strategizing sessions with CAHSI leadership on ways to engage students, especially females, across the alliance. Expected frequency: 3x/academic year.

2. Contribute to drafting a resource (e.g., blog, wiki, student newsletter article) about featured experience(s) and/or ideas that would provide perspective to other CAHSI students, advisors, or supporters. For example, a possible blog topic is, what would you do to improve the enrollment, persistence, graduation, and/or career fulfillment of Latinas and other underrepresented groups in computing? Expected frequency: 1x/academic year

3. Participate in CAHSI leadership team sessions during the annual GMiS Conference. Expected frequency: 1x/academic year

4. Assist in supporting CAHSI-sponsored workshops or efforts at your institution. This could include serving as a student ambassador at meetings and venues to encourage student involvement in CAHSI.

5. Collaborate with and support other student leaders within CAHSI working on female-focused initiatives. These include CAHSI Student Advocates, participants of the female-focused CAHSI Allyship Program, and a forthcoming community of practice on Latinas in Computing.

Complete nominations include submission of the following:

1. Nomination Form (online form)

2. Student’s current résumé

And, if selected to advance in the application process:

3. Student Essay (not to exceed 1750 words in total)

Individuals who are selected as a CAHSI Student Scholar and who show exceptional achievement in leadership, community service, and/or innovation will be considered for a monetary award.

A CAHSI Scholar advocates for the Alliance and excels in these areas:

1. Continuous professional and academic development as evidenced by a range of 21st century skills^[1] and content knowledge.
2. Community engagement that is centered on promotion of diversity and inclusiveness with respect to culture, diverse perspectives, disabilities, ethnic origin, gender, and sexual orientation.
3. Social impact that bridges social needs or problems with tech-based or tech-inspired solutions.

Purpose of the CAHSI Scholar Designation:

1. Position students to respond to the challenges and opportunities in the tech world in an informed and purposeful way so that they are better prepared as the next generation of leaders in computing.
2. Recognize students who have made significant contributions to their community whether that be their school community, neighborhood community, online community, or other conceived community.
3. Promote the breadth of talent at CAHSI institutions.

1. Professional Development: 
   This can include participation in CAHSI-led workshops or other workshops offered via conferences, industry, or associations (e.g., ARG, Writing, How to Sell Yourself and Your Ideas).
2. Scholarly Achievements: 
   These achievements may extend beyond GPA and merit-based awards (e.g., competitions, certifications, recognitions). Individuals should have a GPA of 3.2 or higher. Individuals who have an overall GPA below this mark and wish to be considered as a CAHSI Scholar should articulate the challenges they have faced academically and their respective areas of growth in their essay response.
3. Community Outreach: 
   This may include engagement with K-12, study groups, tutoring, and/or mentoring.
4. Co-curricular or extracurricular activities: 
   This may be evidenced but not limited to undergraduate research, internships/externships, and other related efforts. Possible emphasis on specialties.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/barbarakurshan/2017/07/18/teaching-21st-century-skills-for-21st-century-success-requires-an-ecosystem-approach/#4bb7e9223fe6↩

A student seeking a CAHSI Scholar designation should assemble an application that describes achievement in the aforementioned four core areas. Generally speaking, students should be engaged with CAHSI for at least 1 year before submitting an application.

For the 2020 CAHSI Latina cohort, applications will be considered from undergraduate students who are attending a CAHSI alliance institution.

Application Components

1. Nomination Form: To begin the application process, a CAHSI faculty member must submit an online form that can be accessed under the “Submit Application” tab. A 300-word endorsement of the student written by the faculty member AND the student’s résumé are required to be uploaded in the online form.
2. Student Résumé: The student’s initials, university name, degree, or degrees if applicable, major or program, GPA, as well as (expected) graduation month and year should be included. Briefly list and describe internships completed, jobs held, posters presented, publications, competitions entered, and workshops attended. Include any merit-based awards, competitions entered, certifications obtained, and/or recognitions that have been received during college. Provide hyperlinks to descriptions of these commendations where available. If any certifications or credentials outside the academic program have been obtained, briefly describe those. Avoid using acronyms. *Indicate the CAHSI-sponsored activities you have participated in on the second page of your résumé.
3. Student Essay: You may be invited to submit an essay. We are interested in hearing about your completed efforts, future plans, and experiences that have challenged you to grow as a computing scholar in the form of an essay. Please use the following questions as a guide for your essay. Include these section headings in your essay response: Past Efforts, Future Efforts, and Reflection. Your essay should be no more than 1750 total words.

Past Efforts:
What have you done to better yourself, to support others, and to advance the community?

1. What qualifies you to be a CAHSI Student Scholar and what qualities would you bring to this role?

Future Efforts:
What plans or strategies do you have to positively impact the recruitment, retainment, and advancement of Hispanics in computing?

1. If you were to be selected as a CAHSI Student Scholar, what would you like to focus on? Please describe your plans to make a difference. Consider the impact that you could make beyond the reach of your academic institution.
2. What are the groups/individuals that you would leverage if selected as a scholar? Please be specific in describing who you would connect to as a scholar.

Reflection:
Who are you?

1. What would you do differently to improve opportunities or practices geared towards student success that you have participated in, or observed? Think about this in terms of: challenges with the representation of women in computing.

Submission Directions

1. A CAHSI Faculty member begins the application process by completing the nomination form under the “Submit Application” tab with accompanying endorsement and student’s résumé. If the student is selected to move forward, they will be asked to submit an essay response. Please follow the formatting requirements below in order for your application to be considered.
2. Students invited to submit a full essay will be notified by Andrea Tirres in the CAHSI Backbone. Further instructions will be provided to selected students.

Formatting Requirements

1. Use Arial 11-point font for your résumé and essay responses.
2. Margins of your essay response document should be 1-inch.
3. Use your initials in place of your name in your résumé. Do not include your name in your essay responses, only your initials.
4. Save your document as a PDF using the following naming convention:

• • <Initials of your full name>_Resume
  • <Initials of your full name>_Essay
  • For example, the naming convention for the résumé associated with Esmeralda Olivas Sanchez would be: EOS_Resume

Selection Process

1. Complete applications will be evaluated by a review panel and will be reviewed against guiding criteria in Appendix A.
2. Individuals who are selected as a CAHSI Student Scholar will be announced during the 2020 GMiS Conference.
3. If selected as a CAHSI Scholar, excerpts from your application may be used in promotional material by CAHSI, assuming that you grant CAHSI permission to do so.

Q: Is it acceptable to ask someone to review my essays and resume before I submit my application?
A: You are encouraged to have a second pair of eyes edit your submission but not revise your work.  For an explanation of the difference between the two, see the Purdue University online writing lab here.  Your university likely also operates a writing lab and your mentor may also serve as a resource to you.  You are expected to present work that is your own.  If you are selected to be a CAHSI Student Scholar, you will be required to write other reflection pieces for publication.

Q:  Where do I submit questions about this program?
A:  Questions about the CAHSI Scholars Leadership Program should be directed to altirres2@utep.edu and cahsischolars@gmail.com.

Q:  Is this program only open to CS or CE majors?
A: Yes. An exception may be granted. Your nominating CAHSI faculty member should submit a letter of explanation to altirres2@utep.edu.

Q: Are graduate students eligible for this round?
A: Latina graduate students who have been engaged with undergraduates and who are passionate about the success of undergraduate students in computing may apply for this round.

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