RSL Connected
Get Connected
Build your RSLS experience by joining a team, connecting with a mentor, and enrolling in support courses designed to help you grow as a researcher and leader.
Join a Team
RSLS is excited to announce the creation of our RSLS Discord group!
- You are invited to join this community and develop topic groups to connect with like-minded students.
- You will need to set up an account to get started, but then you can reach out directly to other students.
Joining a club is another great way to connect with other engaged individuals and teams. They are always looking for new members. More importantly, many clubs are actively developing projects in research, service, and creative arts!
Here are a few actively seeking participant to develp RSLS projects:
- The Psychology Club
- Foothill American Chemical Society (FACS), email facs.foothill@gmail.com
- Fund the Future
- Creative Writing Club
Visit the Foothill ICC for a list of active clubs to get connected!
Foothill Campus has a number of exciting opportunities for engaging in the community and participating in research, service and creative arts, including internships, competitions, and campus challenges. The great thing about these activities is that you can double-dip! You can develop a project for, say, the Business Innovation Challenge, or the ASFC PSA competition, for example, and present it at the RSLS, or vice versa.
Check out these opportunities to get additional inspiration:
Find a Mentor
Your search for a mentor will most likely begin by identifying a prospective teacher, tutor, staff member, or club advisor that shares your passion for the project topic.
Every student and team can benefit from having an advisor or mentor to inspire, instruct, coach, review progress, and encourage when difficulties arise. Working with a skilled mentor can become a professionally enriching experience.
Mentors can be club advisors, faculty from across the campus, staff and tutors. Whether you’ve been directly involved with these individuals through classes or clubs, or you are just looking for an individual with expertise in your topic, there are many mentors at Foothill ready to guide you!
Below are some ideas for finding and working with a mentor(s) for your project.
If you are developing or submitting a project that you started in one of your classes or clubs, congratulations, you already have a built in mentor--your instructor or advisor! With very few exceptions, your instructors and advisors are eager to assist you in turning class assignments and club projects into RSLS projects.
Depending on your comfort level, you can reach out to your current instructors with a casual email or talk to them during office hours to request their support. However, we also recommend sending a more official request (see below). All instructors appreciate a thoughtful, well-crafted letter!
If you are having difficulty getting started, follow these tips!
- Reach out to the RSLS Coordinators, Allison Herman and Sam Fleischer, RSLS@fhda.edu
- Attend the RSLS Workshops.
- Stop by the Learning Resource Center (LRC) to chat with subject tutors.
The next step is to send a letter to a prospective advisor that introduces yourself and your ambitions. Foothill’s faculty and staff often have skills and interests beyond the classes they are teaching this quarter. Reaching out with a well-crafted request for mentorship can work well.
Use the Mentorship Request Template to guide you. You can get assistance on drafting the letter from the LRC as well.
Once you connect with your mentor (or more than 1 mentor), you will work together to set up the collaboration that works for you. Maybe you just need your mentor to help you meet deadlines. Perhaps you want more hands on (virtual) guidance on strategies and methods. It’s up to you!
The winter and spring workshops can be a place to connect with your mentors and teams as they are designed to help you meet the application and Symposium deadlines.
Enroll in Support Courses
Discover courses that strengthen your research skills, leadership development, and overall success in the program.
If you would like to earn an additional 1 unit of course credit per quarter while completing your RSLS project and working on your presentation, you can enroll in an optional Independent Study course: ENGL 70R or Introduction to College Research: LIBR10. Though these courses are currently part of the English department and Library department, you can receive credit for projects in any discipline.
Please see below for the current class listing and check in the Class Schedule for course availability.
Take a look at the course syllabus to determine if RSLS Independent Study is right for you: Syllabus: ENGL 70R Independent Study for RSLS.
Your independent study for the RSLS will earn you a letter grade in the course based upon ongoing participation and successful completion of the following:
- Identify a mentor who will work with you during the quarter. You must have a mentor to begin Independent Study. (See tips on finding a mentor.)
- Set up a regular meeting schedule with your mentor that works for you.
- Complete 36 hours of independent work (3 hours/week)
- Attend at least 1 RSLS workshop (these count toward your hours).
- Maintain a log of your hours and activities completed, and have your mentor sign your worksheet. (Copy this RSLS Independent Study Hours Worksheet.)
- Present your project at the RSLS in May!
- Submit your hours and signed worksheet the last day of the quarter for your official grade.
Add codes will be available at the start of each quarter. Contact RSLS Co-coordinator Allison Herman to get more details or to receive an add code to join: RSLS@fhda.edu.
