As the academic year came to a close, the EPAP/ESM Mentorship Program gathered for one final event: our Mentor-Mentee Mixer. The evening provided an opportunity for mentors and mentees to connect in a relaxed setting, celebrate the accomplishments of the past year, and reflect on the relationships that have made the program so meaningful.

As we wrap up another incredible year of the EPAP/ESM Mentorship Program, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on our Roundtable Series and the many lessons shared by our mentors and students. Across five events, students connected with professionals working in government, nonprofits, consulting, law, research, education, and industry. While each panel focused on a different topic, several common themes emerged that shaped how students think about their futures.

Roundtable Review: Building Your Career One Connection at a Time

This quarter, the EPAP/ESM Mentorship Program hosted two Roundtable discussions centered on professional development and networking. While the conversations covered everything from technical skills to LinkedIn etiquette, a common message emerged: building a successful career is not about having everything figured out, but about staying curious, taking initiative, and investing in relationships.

This winter quarter, the EPAP/ESM Mentorship Program hosted two roundtable discussions centered on topics that many students are actively navigating: graduate school, career uncertainty, networking, and building community. Through conversations with professionals and mentors from a variety of backgrounds, students were able to hear honest reflections about the realities of career development, life transitions, and sustaining meaningful relationships both inside and outside of work.

We wanted to take a moment to reflect and share our incredible Fall Quarter. The EPAP/ESM mentorship program reached 100 students, offering them personalized connections with career professionals. Across the quarter, we hosted two incredible Roundtable discussions, the first addressing “Finding Your Environmental Career Pathway”, and the second discussing “Seizing Opportunities and Overcoming Challenges as Members of Minoritized Groups Working or Studying in STEM”.

1. Networking isn't scary, it's just making friends at work: Seriously, stop psyching yourself out about networking.

On April 25th, 2025, the CEPB was incredibly proud of five undergraduate students who were able to convert months of hard work and research into poster presentations at the UC Davis Undergraduate Research Scholarship and Creative Activities Conference. Our students have been working on these projects across the last few quarters in partnership with graduate students completing Masters, Doctorates, and Post-Doc Fellowships. 

Hear from two of our students on their work and experience presenting! 

UC Davis Center for Environmental Policy and Behavior: Post-doctoral Fellowship in Evaluation of Nitrogen Management Extension and Outreach

Position Description

Nature recently published a perspective "Has the ‘great resignation’ hit academia?"  In discussing faculty discontent with academia and shifting to "non-academic" jobs, one factoid they cite is "Forty-one per cent of mid-career researchers — compared with 32% of early-career scientists — reported that organizational politics or bureaucracy frequently or always frustrated their efforts to do a good job".  What is it about the corporate

This report summarizes the results from a survey of California Bay-Delta science enterprise stakeholders conducted in 2021 by researchers from the University of California-Davis, University of Colorado-Denver, and University of Arizona.  You can download the full report here.