Hello Everyone!!! My name is Fatima Molina and I am from the beautiful city of Flagstaff, Arizona. I am beyond excited to be a part of the 2018 Oregon Sea Grant Summer Scholars cohort this summer and for all of the experiences that are bound to happen! I have never been to the state of Oregon before, but as soon as I step off the airplane in Portland I fell in love. I was used to having the San Francisco Peaks and ponderosa pine trees in my backyard growing up in Flagstaff, but during my time at the University of Arizona in Tucson I was surrounded by the hot desert filled with spiky cacti and poisonous animals (although Tucson did have some stellar sunsets).

This summer I am stationed on the Oregon State University (OSU) campus, where I am helping OSU faculty develop a Native American College Readiness Program for students from the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians, as well as, for other Native American tribes around the country. Part of my role is to investigate similar programs established at other post-secondary institutions and to build a correspondence between their administrators and OSU faculty. I will also be working with OSU faculty to develop an IRB-approved survey and protocol for interviewing focus groups to identity barriers to high school graduation and college enrollment. I am super excited to be helping OSU develop this important program to reach out to Native American communities around the country and to further increase diversity and inclusion on the OSU campus. As a Native American myself, it is always fantastic to witness higher education institutions take the initiative to recognize, form communication bridges, and help Native American students receive their Bachelor, Master, and Ph.D. degrees. I am also excited to learn more about the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians in the Pacific Northwest and the history of their tribes. There is a Pow Wow in early August that I would love to attend and if anyone is interested in joining me that would be great! Just let me know!

In the meantime, I will definitely be taking advantage of the local opportunities here on campus, in Corvallis, and throughout Oregon. This past weekend I visited a superb bookstore in downtown Corvallis and walked along a chill bridge across the river. I am not exactly tech savvy so I failed at uploading photos with this blog, but I will try to figure it all out by the next one! Thanks for taking the time to read about me and my project! :D