Tag Archives: Outreach

Event Recap

Huck Students Organize Forum on Diversity in Graduate Education

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Coverage of protests over racism at colleges and universities across the country seem to have recently taken the news by storm, but the issues inciting these protests are hardly new. Last week, two Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences students, Stephanie Bora and Jamaal James, organized a Forum on Diversity in Graduate Education to give students, faculty, staff, and post docs a place to address and discuss these ongoing issues of diversity in the context of graduate school and academia.

Jamaal James (left) and Stephanie Bora (right), organized the Forum on Diversity in Graduate Education
Jamaal James (left) and Stephanie Bora (right), organized the Forum on Diversity in Graduate Education

According to Bora and James, the focus was on underrepresented minorities in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) as well as issues affecting women and international students.

“Jamaal and I got the idea to do this the way many cool ideas form: over drinks at a conference!” said Bora. “We were out in New Orleans and started talking about race relations in general and our different experiences in grad school. We thought that continuing that conversation in a broader sense and raising awareness about subtle biases underrepresented minorities, women, and international students face might be a useful conversation.”

“We hoped to have an open and honest conversation about common obstacles that women, minorities, and international students face while in graduate school,” added James.

Dr. Avery August, guest speaker at the Forum on Diversity in Graduate Education

The two hour forum started with a seminar and Q&A session with Dr. Avery August, Professor of Immunology and Chair of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Cornell University. Dr. August was a Distinguished Professor of Immunology in the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences at Penn State before moving to Cornell in 2010. As part of his seminar, Dr. August presented the demographics of underrepresented minorities and women in STEM fields from education through employment as well as future projections.

“We chose Dr. August because of his close ties with Penn State. We were also aware of Dr. August’s vast knowledge of diversity challenges within the STEM fields and his continuous efforts to diversify academia,” said James.

 

“The data presented by Dr. August was eye opening, particularly the fact that inequalities exist in the processes beyond graduate school,” said Adwitia Dey, a physiology student who attended the forum. “It is important that we, as members of the Penn State community, continue to educate ourselves through such forums and encourage dialogue amongst our peers in order to shape and foster a more positive work environment.”

Dr. August’s talk was followed by  a student-led panel discussion with Josephine Garban, Yurika Matsui, and Sandeep Regmi on privilege, microaggressions that occur in the work environment of the lab/graduate school, and potential solutions to these problems. The biggest issues discussed were the lack of underrepresented minorities in the life sciences and the subconscious nature of privilege and microaggressions.

From L to R: Josephine Garban, Yurika Matsui, Sandeep Regmi, and Stephanie Bora

The main role of the panelists was to help start conversations about different issues and offer a student perspective on these issues.

“We hope that understanding these things [privilege, microaggressions, and empathies] will help us overcome some of the negative consequences that can arise from social privilege, especially with everyone already having to deal with pressures that come with graduate school and academia,” said James.

Bora and James had organized this event with graduate students in mind and addressing day-to-day issues, but were happy to find that many faculty, staff, and administrators came to better learn how to address systematic problems and better mentor their students. These conversations were great to have Dr. August around for and also gave students and faculty a place to have a discussion about what students would like to see from their advisers.

“This was a great opportunity to learn about the state of minority faculty in the U.S. and an opportunity to discuss experiences of underrepresented and female students in our labs and classrooms,” said Dr. Patreese Ingram, Assistant Dean for Multicultural Affairs in the College of Agricultural Sciences, who also attended the forum. “I think it opened up eyes and hopefully hearts. It was great to see so much support for a welcoming climate from those who attended this session.”

A packed room listening to Dr. Avery August

Most people who attended this forum agreed that this sort of event shouldn’t be just a one time thing but rather should be something that occurs on a regular basis to keep up the discussion of issues of diversity in graduate education. Bora and James, both nearing the end of their Ph.D. programs, highly encourage younger students to make sure these events continue.

According to Matsui, other “next steps” discussed at the forum included: organizing a course on issues related to diversity that graduate students and faculty members are required to take, having a set place/person that students can talk to about issues specifically related to diversity, and encouraging graduate students to serve as mentors for high school/college students who are underrepresented minorities to encourage them to pursue college and advanced degrees.

 

If you weren’t able to attend the Forum on Diversity in Graduate Education, Stephanie Bora had these words of advice to give after attending the forum: “try to be aware of your privilege, of other people’s lack thereof, learn and talk about racism and sexism, and be empathetic to the experiences of others.”

The Forum on Diversity in Graduate Education was hosted by CMIID and the CSA.

Student Stories

Maximizing LinkedIn: Three Tips to Improve Networking

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http://blog.linkedin.com/2013/05/13/how-linkedin-changed-my-life/

LinkedIn has become an important contemporary and influential way to expand your network and grow your career professional stock. Globally, it is one of the largest directories of professionals and companies and is best known for creating opportunities for persons to network, job search, do company research, and connect with colleagues, industry, alumni, and an assortment of other business related groups. Overall, it offers a different avenue for talent requisition for companies to hire versus the traditional process.

I have gone to various career-orientated talks this year, and a few overarching themes were “Who do you know?” and “Can you sell yourself?”. Just like keeping up with the changing times, it has become critical for young professionals to understand and take advantage of every outlet possible and their potential opportunities. LinkedIn has a lot of potential to improve your visibility on the job market, so it is important to understand how to use LinkedIn to network with other professionals. Here, I am giving  pointers on how to message people on LinkedIn to ask questions and start a conversation. The hope is to help you be able to give your chats a  more in-person feel.

Here are three tips for breaking out of your shell and using LinkedIn to its fullest potential:

  • No risk, no reward:

The most important part of LinkedIn is connecting with people and growing your network, keeping in mind that networking is about being genuine and authentic to build trust and relationships. Remember: you are selling a product, and that product is “you”—be open and honest about what you are trying to sell. Don’t be afraid to say hello and initiate conversation. Sometimes you have to be the first to reach out and say hello, and that is okay; you never know to where a little chatting may lead. Speaking up helps you become more memorable. So, don’t be anxious—take that risk and send that message.

  • Network with purpose:

Use mental introduction guidelines when engaging new people. Sometimes you only get one chance and you have to make it count, so have focused guides in your speech. Having these mental bullet points will help you get your points across clearly. Decide what your objectives are. Before speaking to people, ask yourself, “Why am I networking?”, “What do I want to accomplish with my networking?”, and “Who will benefit the most from my networking?” Basically, you should network with purpose. When trying to get your points across, it is best to be short, concise, and engaging. Give a synopsis of what you do or what business you are in.

  • Ask questions and be relatable:

You want to keep your interactions and conversation from going stagnate. Ask questions that stimulate more conversation, using the “where, when, who, what, and how” as opposed to simple yes or no questions.  The whole point of networking is to learn and to connect, so interacting this way will lead to more organic conversation and dialog.

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Conclusion:

I am not trying to influence you to just start messaging tons of random people on LinkedIn, but I am trying to suggest networking a little outside your circle. Largely, LinkedIn is about remaining linked with people you actually have encountered. It’s not really a casual social media (e.g. Facebook or Twitter); it is understood to be professional.

Connecting with random people online can be weird; just keep in mind everybody is random until you meet them. The only way to meet people is to talk to them, especially if you have a reason. In-person interactions are more distinctive and memorable than online; however, if you must use it, LinkedIn can be an attractive alternative if you have a specific question or purpose. Good luck—now get to networking!

 

 

 

Want to connect with graduate students, post docs, alumni, and faculty from the Huck Institutes? Join our LinkedIn group here: Penn State Huck Institutes Graduate Network

Student Stories

Long road to PhD: Three things I have learned along the way

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By Kerry R Belton
  1. Persistence:

Grad school can be difficult and isn’t always a breeze; sometimes you don’t want to deal with something that isn’t working right. It has taught me how to cope with rejection and most importantly how to recover from “failure.” I’m about 100% sure at some point in your graduate career you will feel failure of some sort—especially when experiments don’t work… But hey, if everything worked the first time, you’d get a PhD in one year (side note: that would be awesome). Sometimes, I took critiques from my early years in grad school personally—they hurt, and I became anxious and frustrated. The constant repetition and the feeling that what I was doing was insignificant were tough. But as I pressed through, eventually all my worries, doubts, fears, and all those criticisms faded away. I had to mature and overcome my frustration and realize that in each failure there is a valuable lesson. And as long I continue to be persistent, there is a chance that I can attain the successful science career that I still dream of and be happy with my definition of success. Now I see clearly that “failure” is a normal part of grad school or at least it is for us non-perfect folks. Today, I can say that graduate school has made me a much better scientist, and I value the training/education that I have been fortunate enough to receive up to this point.

Advice: Keep your head up, cling to the will of pushing forward, and most of all, look at the bigger picture. Success has to be hiding around here somewhere; it’s just up to you to find it.

http://phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1749
  1. Consciousness:

When I began grad school, feelings of anxiety and insecurity had me thinking that I was only getting results —at least that’s what it felt like. I continued to work for results and quickly started to recognize that there is not an end to this undertaking when I worked that way. So, grad school taught me to focus on the fine detail and how to be decisive. It is vital to be careful and painstakingly careful, particularly meticulous and scrupulous. There is a world of difference between an “ng” and a “µg”. Being one “0” off can throw off an entire experiment. Thoroughly planning each element of your work is crucial. After all, the main goal of most scientists is to publish peer-reviewed articles. And why do an experiment ten times when you could only do it three? The time you spend working is valuable—more valuable then gold in my opinion. I’m just saying, in a million years, gold will still be here, but most likely you won’t.

Advice: Realize that there has to be an “end” to the story. Well, there is never really an end to any story. Your project could go on indeterminately and a new graduate student could pick up the slack. My point is that focusing can be your motivation and light at the end of the tunnel. So ask yourself: What experiments do I need to do now and in the fastest amount of time in order to publish and graduate? Plan your experiments thoroughly and cover your bases. With this focused approach, you can quickly shoo away nay-sayers and disgruntled reviewers.

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http://phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1816
  1. Communication: 

As grad students, we must have the capability to clearly express our ideas—in person and in writing. I have learned that grad school is nothing equated to undergrad. Specifically, you are entirely on your own—communication is fundamental. Keep in mind that there are different levels of communication (i.e. your lab mates, your adviser, your specific scientific community, and with the community at large). During a co-op I did a few years ago—my supervisor told me “you have to be able to talk to everybody — from company executives on site for a visitation to the gruff guys out in the sun all day covered in motor oil — because you need all of them to make this plant as a whole run properly.” This lesson still applies to my science and our science community here today. Each level of communication requires a slightly different approach in the way of speaking and conveying the information. They’re all important, both for us as individuals and for moving our research forward. Just think, you wouldn’t write a job cover letter the same way you would write an NSF grant. Believe me when I say it would be a bad feeling when you have discovered something new or interesting and can’t clearly communicate the significance of your finding to your peers. Precisely for that reason, grad school “forces” you to cultivate certain character qualities and develops you into a more enlightened and stouter person. It forces you to seek answers and to speak up, to absorb information more quickly, to put your own pride aside, and to apprehend that you are all in it together to advance scientific research with a common goal to better human life.

Advice: Grad school “forces” you to strive for answers and to speak up. So don’t sit quietly confused; be loquacious. Remember, write and communicate for your audience whether it’s a room full of cursing sailors or a nursing home– communication is KEY to your success so use it wisely.

http://phdcomics.com/comics.php?f=1365

Final thoughts

Grad school develops you like a ripening fruit on a branch full of seeds, each eagerly ready to grow into its own tree someday. Basically, it’s about the journey that shapes you into the productive PhD, not the destination. Try to enjoy your journey and be grateful for every lesson along the way, even the bad ones. Never be afraid to ask for help or to give help to those in need. Offer up your expertise and network– you never know where these interactions could lead. Don’t try to do everything alone; it’s okay to depend on your friends and family to help you through tough times and to keep you motivated. Be social and get out of the lab from time-to-time, enjoy the sunlight and a nice road trip. Keep in mind that persistence and attentiveness, time management, writing/communication skills, analytical/critical thinking skills, and creative problem-solving are chief. Try to become the person that an undergrad or perspective graduate student can look up to. Finally, the moral of this story is “focus on your nested goals” – to be victorious you must find glory in the little things. And in my opinion PhD is a million little things carefully put together to make your bigger picture. Remember that your primary goal is to get a PhD, but your little goals along the way; the year, semester, month, and week aren’t to get a PhD, but make visible steps towards that ultimate goal. So hammer away at the mountain called PhD– knocking off little bits at a time.

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” -Benjamin Franklin

Student Stories

Fun With Science: MCIBS GSA does outreach event with Higher Achievement Program

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As graduate students, the daily hardships of troubleshooting experiments can sometimes cause us to forget that spark we felt about science when we were younger. For some, that spark came during their childhood when they were romping around in the backyard looking at bugs. For others, it came later in life, perhaps in a high school biology or chemistry class.

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Me and a friend presenting an elementary school science fair project… I’m guessing ~1998?

I have loved science, especially biology, for as long as I can remember. In elementary school, I entered a project at the science fair every year, and then in high school, I took every science class that was offered. However, a career as a scientist never really crossed my mind — I just did science because I liked it. But then, I had to start thinking about college. I wanted to be a veterinarian, and although veterinarians are definitely scientists in my mind now, I didn’t really think of it that way back then.

Despite my long-lasting love for science, I would say that it wasn’t until my junior year of college that my true “spark” happened through my undergraduate research experience when I learned to appreciate the moment of clarity and satisfaction after getting an assay to work that I had spent weeks on. From that point on, I was hooked.

So what’s the point of my somewhat lengthy background story of how I am a nerd who loves biology?

As a soon-to-be fifth year PhD student (seriously, where did the last few years go!?), I know all too well the trials and tribulations that we as graduate students face, and that sometimes, the process of banging your head trying to solve what should be a simple problem can be a bit overwhelming and make us think, “Why am I even doing this!?” However, just a few days ago, I was reminded of that “spark” for science thanks to 30 middle school students from the D.C. area.

The Higher Achievement program is a year-round, research-intensive program for middle school youths to provide a rigorous learning environment, caring role models, and a culture of high expectations to mold college-bound scholars. As part of the program’s Summer Academy element, the students take an overnight trip to a college to better help the young scholars really picture themselves as college students. Penn State began its partnership with the Higher Achievement program back in 2008, but this was the first year that I personally became involved.

https://commons.wikimedia.org

I, along with MCIBS students Mike Walker and Alex Campbell, had the opportunity to volunteer with 30 of the High Achievement program scholars by hosting a workshop organized by the MCIBS GSA to learn a little bit more about one of the most famous Penn State staples: ice cream.

The students began their workshop with a tour of the Penn State creamery, getting to learn more about the process of making ice cream. That can be cool and all, but the best way to make science exciting, especially for middle school kids, is to let them experience the science. That’s why, in an activity designed by MCIBS GSA President Hillary Figler, these young scholars got to actually make their own ice cream!

The students were given two bags: Bag A contained three cups of ice and about two tablespoons of salt while Bag B contained 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla, and one tablespoon of sugar. All they had to do was drop Bag B into Bag A, and shake that bag as hard as they could for ~10 minutes — wah-lah! ICE CREAM. (Special props to Mike for assembling all these ingredients the night before to make our lives easier!!)

The ingredients!

We then had some chocolate and caramel syrup along with sprinkles that students could add to their homemade snack. Of course we talked about how this whole process worked —  the lower temperature of the salt and ice mixture, which is surrounding the milk/vanilla/sugar, is cold enough to then change the state of the milk/vanilla/sugar mixture into a solid AKA ice cream. Although getting ice cream isn’t usually that much of a workout, it was pretty cool to see the satisfying looks on the kids’ faces when they got to experience the science behind making ice cream!

Mike Walker (MCIBS) helping student make ice cream!

Participating in outreach events like this is always something I thoroughly enjoy because it helps me to remember what it was like to be a kid when I was fascinated by science. “It’s really great to be a part of the kids’ experiences,” added Alex Campbell. “Sometimes it’s hard to see how science at the bench can impact lives, and being able to work with these students is very rewarding because you get to communicate science directly.”

If you’re looking for a little inspiration these days, or just want to help out with an outreach event, keep your ears open for opportunities within student organizations you’re part of or look into how you can work with offices like the ECoS Outreach and Science Engagement Office to get more involved! Additionally, there’s a new 1-credit course being offered this Fall semester (BIOL 497F: Science Outreach and Communication) to help you work on your skills for science outreach and communication specifically!

Student Stories

3 Things I Learned at the Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) National Meeting

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A few weeks ago, the Penn State chapter of the National Graduate Women in Science (GWIS) organization hosted their national meeting in State College, PA. The topic of the conference was science outreach, and seeing as my science blog is all about public outreach I decided it would be a good idea to attend!

Apparently, there’s a lot of good things going on at Penn State in terms of science outreach. For starters, Penn State hosts a science summer camp for K-12 kids every year called “Science-U”, which advocates science literary in youth. In the fall, they also run a public science fair event known as “Discovery-U“. And then of course, there are people like me at Penn State who are trying to get working adults more interested and in tune with science through online blogging.

But enough about Penn State! More importantly, the GWIS conference was an effort to educate graduate students on science communication. Particular emphasis was put on becoming an effective science communicator, as well as exposure to the many different types of jobs involved with science outreach. Rather than walk you through the entirety of the conference however, I’m going to tell you the three main take-home points:

1. Science outreach is tough!

Teaching string theory, the structure of an atom, or the intricacies of a cell to the average person is really quite difficult. Scientists have been researching these topics for centuries! So how exactly do you convert centuries of scientific inquiry into a 30-second elevator pitch that the average person can understand — let alone, want to understand? Of course, if your target audience is children, the task is even more daunting because of their short attention span.

While the average PhD-holder might see careers in science outreach as being beneath them, this couldn’t be further from the truth. True, we’re probably too overqualified to be the volunteers explaining science at the various outreach events, but it takes a PhD to figure out what to say in the first place! In reality, science outreach involves a lot of thinking outside the box. You’re essentially trying to explain the scientific world through a series of simple metaphors. Ultimately, the number one take-home message of the conference was that science outreach is really tough, and there aren’t enough scientists doing it.

2. If anything, Academia should be considered the alternative career for scientists

In the past, getting your PhD pretty much meant you were going to eventually become a professor. In fact, a 1973 NSF survey of PhD-holders in the biological sciences found that over 55% went on to a tenured or tenure-track faculty position. At that time, any other career track (e.g. scientific writing, industry research, or patent law) was considered an “alternative” career. However, today’s situation is quite different. By 2006, the NSF survey showed that merely 20% of PhD-holders went on to hold a tenured or tenure-track position within 6 years of graduation. Thus, 80% were either stuck in a never-ending post-doctoral position or going into these so-called “alternative” careers. So in the end, what we refer to as “alternative careers” in science are quickly becoming the norm, and the “traditional” academic route has quickly become the alternative.

3. Don’t worry, everything will be okay in the end.

Perhaps the greatest (personal) takeaway from this conference was that no matter what you end up doing, everything is going to be fine in the end. As graduate students, we are always worrying about work/life balance, getting a job with a good salary, raising a family, etc. As the speakers pointed out though, these are struggles all people go through in life. Besides, getting a PhD is about more than just becoming an expert in your field, it’s also about becoming an expert on how to learn. PhDs are the ultimate learners and can pick up new topics very quickly. Combine this with an already deep understanding of science, and we become very marketable for nearly any job. So no matter what you end up doing, you will find a job with a decent salary, you will find your personal work/life balance, and if you want to, you will start a family.

Lastly, one thing that was common to all the speakers at the conference was that their path through life was not very clear-cut. They all took twisted, convoluted career paths to get to where they are today. But everyone does this; that’s just life in the 21st century. While we all may envision what we’ll be doing after graduation, things never work out the way you intend them to. Nonetheless, the fact that you’ll have a PhD means that after all the dust settles, you’ll still be fine!

While I can’t package everything that happened at the GWIS National Meeting into a single blog post, hopefully I have done it justice by presenting three of the major themes that were presented. Of course, if you want the full experience, you’ll just have to go to next year’s meeting! Even if you don’t though, attending career development workshops like this is still very crucial for graduate students. Not only do these events provide valuable life lessons, but also an opportunity to network with others. And building bridges is truly the secret to success!