Jason Somarelli, Assistant Professor in Medicine

Bass Connections Project Teams: Bioremediation of Plastic Pollution to Conserve Marine Biodiversity, Learning from Whales: Oxygen, Ecosystems and Human Health, Empowering Youth Civic Action on Plastic Pollution

Jason Somarelli is a team leader and faculty contributor to three different Bass Connections teams. Over the years, he has led students to make contributions to conservation and health. He was awarded the 2021 Bass Connections Leadership Award. In a faculty orientation meeting, he shared tips for developing a successful Bass Connections environment.

Thoughtful Recruitment Planning

Recruiting team members is key. In the recruiting process, Somarelli tries to draw students from different backgrounds and learning levels. “Be thoughtful,” he said. Keep in mind project goals, how those goals will be communicated, who is needed on the team, and who is needed to develop tools for the project. “Think comprehensively about what skillsets you need.”

This includes recruiting one to three graduate students and a designated project manager. Somarelli strongly advocates for having a project manager, describing them as a “critical bridge between faculty and undergraduates.”

Team Structure

He incorporates a tiered mentoring approach into his team structure, so that team members can work with people from different levels. Higher level undergraduate students can mentor new members of the team. Somarelli also recommends easing students into leadership, starting more hands-on in the beginning and then allowing more leadership opportunities from the end of the fall into the spring. Summer work beforehand can also ease students into the team.

Subteams can help organize interests and goals of team members. Through past challenges, Somarelli found out that it is critical to communicate across subteams. Without communication, teams can lose connections between students, leading to decreased cohesion and motivation. The surveys produced by Bass Connections can help team leaders identify other ways to improve.

Leading With Positivity

Most of all, since many Duke students put so much pressure on themselves, Somarelli recommends faculty “lead with grace, flexibility and optimism.” Giving students a fun and engaging opportunity is at the heart of Bass Connections, he notes.