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This research-to-practice full paper describes a cohort-based undergraduate research program designed to improve STEM retention through structured mentoring and community building. Drawing on the Affinity Research Group (ARG) model, the program fosters faculty-student research collaboration and integrates faculty mentorship training, student-led peer mentoring, and structured interventions, such as research skills workshops and networking events. Each year, faculty from biology, chemistry, computer science, environmental science, and mathematics lead small-group research projects with recruited students who may participate for up to three years. Faculty and students receive ARG training to promote consistent mentoring practices. A credit-bearing, major-specific first-year orientation course supports recruitment and reinforces students’ scientific identity. Faculty also engage in professional development workshops to strengthen student-centered mentoring approaches. Data collection includes surveys, interviews, retention tracking, and weekly journaling to assess STEM identity, belonging, and skill development. External evaluators reviewed the faculty focus groups to assess mentoring effectiveness. Initial findings show strong faculty engagement with the ARG model, with many adopting adaptive mentoring strategies that enhance student support. Students report increased confidence and belonging within their disciplines. However, cross-disciplinary collaboration remains limited, highlighting the need for more intentional networking within the cohort. Students also emphasized the value of peer collaboration alongside faculty mentorship. These results suggest that undergraduate research can serve as a powerful tool for building community and supporting persistence in STEM. Ongoing efforts will focus on expanding networking opportunities, strengthening peer collaboration, and evaluating long-term impacts on student retention. 

College students may have limited access to produce and may lack confidence in preparing it, but cooking videos can show how to make healthy dishes. The Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning suggests that learning is enhanced when visual and auditory information is presented considering cognitive load (e.g., highlighting important concepts, eliminating extraneous information, and keeping the video brief and conversational). The purpose of this project was to pilot test a food label for produce grown at an urban university and assess whether student confidence in preparing produce improved after using the label and QR code to view a recipe video developed using principles from the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. The video showed a student preparing a salad with ingredients available on campus. Students indicated the label was helpful and reported greater perceived confidence in preparing lettuce after viewing the label and video (mean confidence of 5.60 ± 1.40 before vs. 6.14 ± 0.89 after, p = 0.016, n = 28). Keeping the video short and providing ingredients and amounts onscreen as text were cited as helpful. Thus, a brief cooking video and interactive label may improve confidence in preparing produce available on campus. Future work should determine whether the label impacts produce consumption and if it varies depending on the type of produce used.