Emerging Scholars

The Emerging Scholars program is a one-of-its-kind program designed specifically for first-year students from backgrounds that are traditionally underrepresented in higher education or their field of study.

The program makes available three high-impact practices over the course of a student’s firstyear at CSB/SJU: undergraduate research,learning in community and meaningful oncampus student employment.

Students selected to become Emerging Scholars are paired with a faculty mentor who is committed to making undergraduate research accessible. Emerging Scholars are offered a full-time, paid, on-campus research position (10-12 hours per week) for the entire academic year under the mentorship of their faculty mentor. Students assist their mentor with hands-on research or creative work, participate in personal and professional development and networking opportunities, and are part of a unique learning community of students and faculty that nurtures their sense of belonging on campus.

The inaugural cohort for the Emerging Scholars program consisted of five students and five mentors for academic year 2019-2020, with plans for growth in the future.

Perrin Thompson ’23, from Buffalo, Minnesota, worked with Dr. Deborah Pembleton to study “Balancing the Professional and Personal Lives of Hmong Women in Leadership: A Phenomenological Culture Case Study.”

“My time in the Emerging Scholars program impacted how I will approach the rest of my time at CSB and the rest of my life,” says Perrin. “I have recently decided that after medical school I want to practice in rural parts of the United States and the world. My experience researching Hmong women in leadership helped me understand the disparities in the health care system – most of which start with lack of primary care physicians.”