DESPITE CONSIDERABLE SCIENTIFIC AND FINANCIAL CAPITAL, AGRICULTURE AND NATURAL RESOURCE SCIENCE (NRS) LACK A CRITICAL ELEMENT: DIVERSITY. IMPROVING DIVERSITY CREATES A MORE INNOVATIVE AND PRODUCTIVE WORKFORCE WITH COMPLEX PROBLEM-SOLVING SKILLS. APPLICATION OF A RESOURCE-BASED PERSPECTIVE ON DIVERSITY BY NRS AGENCIES CAN IMPROVE ENVIRONMENTAL CAPITAL BY INCREASING HUMAN CAPITAL. REMOVING BARRIERS TO UNDERREPRESENTED MINORITY (URM) PARTICIPATION IS KEY TO IMPROVING NRS HUMAN CAPITAL, ESPECIALLY AS CULTURAL FACTORS CAUSE URM STUDENTS TO HAVE LESS SELF-CONFIDENCE ABOUT THEIR ABILITY TO OVERCOME BARRIERS. URM PARTICIPATION IN NRS PROGRAMS IS DRIVEN MORE BY EXPERIENCES FROM ORGANIZED EVENTS (E.G., SCHOOL FIELD TRIPS, VOLUNTEERING) THAN BY 'CULTURAL INTEREST'. ACCORDINGLY, CREATING PILOT PROGRAMS TO ENGAGE URM UNDERGRADUATES AND K-12 STUDENTS HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED AS CRITICAL LONG-TERM INVESTMENTS TOWARD IMPROVING HUMAN CAPITAL IN NRS. OUR OVERALL PROGRAM OBJECTIVES ARE TO INCREASE PARTICIPATION OF STUDENTS FROM URM GROUPS IN NRS AND AGRICULTURAL DISCIPLINES. BY INCREASING VISIBILITY OF URM PROFESSIONALS IN NRS DISCIPLINES AND PROVIDING TARGETED MENTORSHIP TO CURRENT URM UNDERGRADUATES, THIS PROGRAM WILL DIRECTLY INCREASE: 1) THE NUMBER OF MATRICULATING URM UNDERGRADUATES IN UNIVERSITY NRS/AGRICULTURAL DEGREE PROGRAMS, AND 2) RETENTION RATES OF CURRENTLY-ENROLLED URM UNDERGRADUATES. THE PROPOSED PROGRAM WILL: 1) USE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING TO CULTIVATE TECHNICAL, COGNITIVE, AND SYNTHETIC SKILLS IN URM UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS MAJORING IN NRS DISCIPLINES TO PREPARE THEM TO ADDRESS FUTURE ENVIRONMENTAL CHALLENGES, 2) USE A HIERARCHICAL MENTORING MODEL TO DEVELOP MENTORING SKILLS IN URM UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS AND GRADUATE STUDENTS FROM MULTIPLE BACKGROUNDS, AND 3) INCREASE URM INTEREST, REPRESENTATION, AND RETENTION IN NRS AND OTHER STEM FIELDS.