Volunteer Positions Available for Students

Volunteer Positions for Students

Questions? Email students@tws-west.org

Western Section Students!  We hope you’ll join us in Monterey. We offer a student volunteer program to help alleviate travel costs for students.  Please submit an application to be considered, as spots are limited. Those who are selected and work at least 8 hours are eligible for a full registration fee reimbursement, as well as a stipend to offset lodging costs. Priority will be given to those presenting in the oral or poster scientific sessions, and to those with financial need.

Details:

The Student Volunteer Application is now open for responses! The first round of applications are due by December 5th, 2025. Up to 25 students will be chosen for the program based on their overall schedule availability, and responses to application questions. We will aim to choose volunteers from throughout the Western Section geographic region so that all areas are represented – California, Nevada, Hawaii and the Pacific Islands. We will also aim to have all current student chapters represented — CalPoly Humboldt, Univ. Nevada Reno, UC Davis, UC Santa Barbara, CalPoly SLO, along with those who do not have a school student chapter.

We will confirm acceptance into the volunteer program by December 8, 2025, via email and all volunteers will need to register and pay for the meeting by December 12th to confirm their position. Those not offered a volunteer position will be added to a wait list in case additional positions become available. We will continue to add students to the waitlist on a first-come, first-served basis after the initial deadline of December 5th, 2025. We encourage students to still apply if they are interested in the volunteer program as while not guaranteed, additional positions almost always become available as we get closer to the conference date.

As soon as the conference concludes, reimbursements will be mailed or paid electronically to those who have fully completed their scheduled shifts. If this situation introduces financial hardship, please communicate further with the student volunteer coordinator upon acceptance into the program.

This year the volunteer positions are reserved for those registering as a student for the 2026 TWS-WS Annual Meeting. Students must be current TWS-WS members and currently enrolled at a university or college or within 6 months of degree conferral. Early Career Professionals and all other non-students are encouraged to apply for grants through out TWS-WS website: https://monterey2026.tws-west.org/annual-meeting-scholarships-for-early-career-professionals/

If you have questions, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at students@tws-west.org.

Volunteer opportunities include checking participants into the meeting, working the audio/visual & lights in a session, helping out with an evening event or workshop, etc…   We will work with volunteers to set up a volunteer schedule that allows them to participate in the top events they are interested in attending during the meeting so that volunteers have an incredible conference experience.  No experience is required.

Volunteers must pay to register for the meeting and will be reimbursed after they have worked their scheduled hours.  The Western Section is reimbursing up to $415 per volunteer for approximately 8 hours of volunteer work (the $240 Student registration rate plus a $175 contribution to offset lodging in a shared quad room for three nights at the Hyatt Regency in Monterey, receipt required.)  A check will be sent within 2 weeks of submittal of the volunteer reimbursement form after the conference. We encourage students to share hotel rooms to reduce costs.