Passion is what drives the efforts of Drs. Mary Foltz and Jaime Schussler as assistant professors in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Oklahoma State University.

Both share expertise in water resource management and sustainability. They also share a commitment to mentorship and providing their students and colleagues with tools to be successful researchers in their careers.

This has led to the creation of the Oklahoma Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR) Water Research Mentorship Program, which just concluded its third cohort of discussions in spring 2026.

This program fosters a sense of community and belonging between high school and college students, industry professionals and academic experts. Discussions are centered on water research and education to provide insights, resources and connections to help members become more involved in water research and learn about possible career avenues.

Members are divided into trios, with lead mentors, immediate mentors and mentees. There were 28 participants divided into eight groups in the 2026-27 academic year. The program doesn’t direct water research, but guides members to be more effective researchers.

Students work as mentees alongside both mentors: lead mentors have more field experience, and intermediate mentors are closer in age to the students, allowing all to benefit from a variety of input and guidance.

Some are drawn to engineering topics such as water treatment system design and biodiversity assessments. Others are interested in the biological makeup of the state’s waterways and even in social aspects, such as the public’s perception of various water challenges.

“The program includes professional development topics to explore ways to give effective presentations, strengthen your resume and understand how research takes shape,” Foltz said. “While the topics aren’t specifically water-related in themselves, the participants come from common backgrounds/interests related to water, so that examples can be more tailored to the participants’ experience.

“For example, during the discussion on how research takes shape, specific examples are related to water, such as mention of local funding through the water center or the Governor’s Water Conference as a good venue to disseminate research findings.”

Creating collaborative cohorts

By bringing together people from different backgrounds and areas of expertise, this program allows trios of collaborators to learn from one another.

Vicktoria Holdaway, a senior environmental geoscience major at OSU, completed her second year in the program, serving as an intermediate mentor this year after being a mentee the previous year. She enjoyed helping students new to the program and discovering how water discussions can complement her own area of expertise.

“My area of study is mainly on rocks and not water,” Holdaway said. “So, this program really showed me where water is applicable in research as well as how I can combine geology with water in the environmental engineering sense, because it’s very niche. I enjoy collaborating, and this group has brought together people from industry and others like me involved in research, especially in areas not directly related to water. It’s nice to see what potential job opportunities are out there.”

Megan Ryan, who has worked with Schussler on research projects, just completed her master’s degree in environmental engineering and will soon start a position as an engineer with Cardinal Strategies in Wylie, Texas.

The ability to learn about available careers, as well as experience writing a resume, helped her identify how she wanted to start her career.

“This program is really helpful to expand on what is out there in terms of careers involved with water resources,” Ryan said. “It’s also been great to interact with people who are at different stages in their careers because you have the mentees, intermediate mentors and then overall mentors. On top of that, networking and meeting all these different people, all from Oklahoma, is really impactful.

“It is so great that this is offered through OSU because it provides another avenue for students to connect with people.”

Kaitlin Diodosio, a fourth-year Ph.D. student in political science at the University of Oklahoma, said working alongside experts in water conservation has benefited her social science research.

“This program has given me an opportunity to connect with some of the technologies that I look at for public perceptions and trying to understand the feasibility of those technologies, so it’s been really fun to be able to connect the two,” Diososio said.

Alan Dennis, an engineer on the hydrology and hydraulics team at Garver, said it is huge for him to collaborate with the program. He became involved after discussions with Schussler about their shared interests in civil engineering and water resource management.

As an engineer in the water industry, Dennis sees what is being implemented to help clients save money or reduce pollutants. But collaborating with students and academic experts has also given him insight into the topics and issues researchers are involved in.

“Being able to hear what is being dreamed about and thought about on the academic side is great,” Dennis said. “Even gathering data quicker. Those are all things that we need to know in the industry, and I can share from my experience. I have lessons learned and mistakes that I’ve made, and I can pass that along to these students as well as learn from them and their expertise and their different life experiences.”

The Water Research Mentorship opens applications in late summer/early fall. Anyone interested in becoming a mentor or mentee can apply. After participating in the program for a year, members are promoted to the next tier and become mentors to new mentees.

Anyone interested can email mary.foltz@okstate.edu and jaime.schussler@okstate.edu to ask questions or learn how to become involved.