As Rebekah begins a new chapter in retirement, we take this opportunity to celebrate her remarkable career and gain valuable insights from her journey in the STEM field!
As a passionate advocate for STEM education, Rebekah Dupont shared her experiences and wisdom through a series of questions:
1. What is your earliest memory involving mathematics?
I grew up in an old house in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. When I was quite young my parents redid the bathroom with arabesque shaped tiles. I didn’t know the word “tessellation” then, but I fell in love with the elegant way that the curvilinear tiles came together with no overlaps or gaps.
2. What motivated your decision to pursue a PhD in mathematics?
As an undergraduate, I wasn’t sure of my academic path. I was a declared history major and after first year calculus, didn’t take any mathematics in my sophomore year. To prepare a speech on math anxiety I read Overcoming Math Anxiety by Sheila Tobias as well as the work of Lucy Sells framing mathematics as a critical filter limiting access for women and underrepresented groups to the world of work. My work as a volunteer tutor gave me firsthand experience of mathematics appearing like a brick wall barrier to students who were clearly talented and full of promise. At the same time, I missed the beauty and intellectual challenge of studying mathematics. I declared mathematics as a second major and when the professor I admired most told me I should consider graduate school, I felt I was walking on air. My professional path took many twists and turns, but working to overcome mathematics as a barrier has been a driving force in my career. At Augsburg, I started a calculus workshop modeled after the work of Uri Treisman of Charles A. Dana Center. Teaching the workshop for over a decade connected me to a wide set of perspectives on student learning and aspirations.
3. What inspired your involvement in S-STEM work?
I was tabling at our new student orientation involvement fair to recruit for the calculus workshop. A parent stopped by my table and asked why we didn’t have an NSF STEM scholarship program “like all the other schools”. I started researching S-STEM funding opportunities and never looked back.
4. Which skills or knowledge gained throughout your career have proven most valuable?
My mother told me that money is not the only way you pay people. This taught me to treat each person with respect and observe what they value, then do your best to create conditions for them to thrive and receive credit for their contributions. My brother shared the quote, often attributed to Jim Rohn, that you are the average of the five people you spend the most time with. From this I learned to seek work situations where I felt aligned with the values and work styles of my colleagues and to extricate myself from situations that really didn’t feel right.
5. What advice do you offer to students transitioning from 2YC to 4YC institutions?
I love to talk to students exploring transfer and each student has a unique path. I start by asking them about what they are interested in and what classes they are currently taking. I encourage them to approach exploring transfer using multiple strategies, including posing their questions to individuals in different roles (transfer admissions counselors, professional staff advisors, and STEM faculty at both community colleges and universities). Rather than expecting all the answers to match up, the varied answers can help paint a more complex picture of things they might encounter. Then, I like to give the advice that they opt for an approach of “apply then decide” versus “decide then apply”. I go on to explain that they won’t really know their financial aid offers or transfer audit results (i.e. a summary of how their community college courses will transfer) until they have applied and are admitted. So why not apply to say, three different schools and compare what they each have to offer? Finally, I always encourage them to find ways to experience the campus first-hand beyond admission tours. Walk the halls, sit in on a class, attend a student research presentation, or visit the meeting of student group that interests them. This can help inform whether they will feel a sense of belonging on the campus, which ultimately accrues to their success.
6. Has your engagement in S-STEM work enriched your professional journey? If so, we'd appreciate further insight.
My engagement with the S-STEM community has definitely enriched my professional journey.
Mentorship is a core component of S-STEM programs. I like to use the term mentorship versus mentoring to remind myself of the reciprocal nature of the relationship and the opportunities to learn and grow from listening to and getting to know our scholars. The pandemic challenged us to adapt our mentorship approaches to virtual settings. I’ll never forget my first in-person mentorship meeting with one of my mentees after getting to know her through virtual meetings. We are both proudly wearing STEM Peer Mentorship t-shirts designed by one of our scholars and distributed using touchless delivery by our peer mentors. The perspectives and suggestions from our scholars have significantly contributed to our S-STEM program design and the opportunity to develop these relationships has been one of the most rewarding aspects of my career.
7. What do you envision for yourself after you retire?
A friend shared the term “preferment” to describe continuing to work on the things that you prefer to do. I plan to continue to work on NSF projects and hope to share some of the lessons that I learned through trial and error and continue building my skillset in program evaluation. I also have some ambitions that I have never had the time for, such as taking ballroom dancing lessons with my husband and learning to skijor with my dog. Everyone I talk to emphasizes the importance of continuing to do something where you feel you add value. For me, I expect that will involve maintaining connections with my S-STEM friends, colleagues, scholars and alumni!
The S-STEM community has been a wonderful place to meet cherished colleagues! I am very grateful for the professional friendships that have grown within our cross-institutional team of co-PIs. I have learned so much from them. I also am part of a group of S-STEM PIs who share connections to mathematics. Thanks to a colleague taking initiative and reaching out to S-STEM recipients at one of the annual Joint Mathematics Meetings, a group of PIs from across the country with different types of S-STEM programs got to know each other. This group formed shortly before Covid. Having this group of colleagues with whom to share challenges and successes has been an incredible support. The creation of the S-STEM REC and the S-STEM Hubs is a great way to foster more connections and collaborations between S-STEM PIs and helps create for PIs the type of ecosystem of support for each other that we wish for our students.
While we cannot replace Rebekah's dedication, we are thrilled to share that her passion for PROSPECT remains strong! Despite her retirement, she has expressed a desire to continue contributing to the project, and we welcome her back knowing she will continue to be a valuable resource to the team!
Reference
Sells, L. W. (1976). The mathematics filter and the education of women and minorities.
Tobias, S. (1978). Overcoming math anxiety. WW Norton & Company.