Our S-STEM PROSPECT HUB was well-represented at the 2023 S-STEM Scholars Meeting, held in Washington, DC on September 14-16. This event, hosted by the American Association for the Advancement of Science with support from the National Science Foundation, included plenary sessions, professional development workshops, a career fair and poster sessions at which S-STEM scholars presented their current research. Over 900 S-STEM Scholars from across the nation were in attendance, including over twenty PROSPECT S-STEM Scholars who combined represented five S-STEM PROSPECT projects, including KCURE, PRISM, SPECTRA, STEM CONNECT and SURGE.
In addition to the PROSPECT S-STEM Scholars in attendance, PROSPECT had three affiliated faculty who attended the meeting as Meeting Mentors: Dr. Tuncay Aktosun (University of Texas-Arlington/SURGE), Dr. Rebekah Dupont (Augsburg University/PRISM), and Dr. Michelle Maher (University of Missouri-Kansas City/KCURE). Dr. Dupont and Dr. Maher each presented S-STEM Scholar workshops at the meeting.
Dr. Dupont’s workshop, Using STAR Stories to Connect your Strengths to the most Sought-after Soft Skills by STEM Employers, provided strategies for preparing for interviews. A pre-session poll in the conference app Whova™ indicated that only about 1 in 5 of the 212 poll respondents feel “calm, cool, and collected” when facing an interview, while 2 out of 3 feel “anxious, nervous, or stressed”. By anticipating potential questions and preparing individualized responses in advance, scholars can build confidence, reduce anxiety, and optimize their interview performance. Scholars used Yosso’s Community Cultural Wealth framework or the Clifton Strengthsfinder assessment in combination with the STAR interview technique to provide a structured approach to crafting responses. Participants also benefited from the wisdom of the S-STEM community shared through Whova. Suggestions emphasized the benefit of practicing: “practice with family members”, “practice with friends or professors”, and “practice makes perfect!”; as well as messages of authenticity: “be yourself”, “know yourself”, and “remember where you are from, and where you want to go”.
Dr. Maher’s workshop, “Rewarding but Sometimes Overwhelming: Maintaining Well-being During Graduate School” used photos taken by STEM graduate students to explore common challenges to maintaining well-being associated with graduate school. Three key themes were managing relationships, maintaining physical and mental health, and findings your purpose and place. Dr. Maher said, “Scholars, both those thinking about graduate school and those already in graduate school, appreciated the opportunity to candidly discuss maintaining well-being while engaging in graduate-level courses and laboratory work.”
S-STEM PROSPECT congratulates those Scholars selected to attend this event and looks forward to seeing more Scholars at this event next year in Washington, DC!
See all event photos at: https://michaeljcolella.passgallery.com/-sstem2023/gallery