Science outreach is very important to me. I particularly enjoy encouraging women in STEM and working with children to build interest in science.
Throughout my graduate career, I have been working with BU’s Graduate Women in Science and Engineering (GWiSE). I have served various roles in the organization, including Vice President (’20-’21), President (’21-’22) and, currently, Communications Director. During my leadership tenure, I was faced with the challenge of navigating the gradual return to in-person events following the online semester of Spring 2020, and the ’20-’21 academic year, which was hybrid. Now, I am focused on helping to rebuild our graduate community.
I was accepted to the Astrobites collaboration in 2019 and served as a writer for two years. This involved writing and editing plain language summaries of astrophysical journal articles for a target audience of undergraduates in physical sciences and anyone interested in active research. These articles make current research accessible for people who aren’t used to reading jargon-heavy papers. You can access my Astrobites here.
At RIT, I participated in a yearly outreach event called Imagine RIT, a day-long creativity and innovation festival. This family-friendly event draws a huge crowd each year, and I participated in an exhibit called “Science Playground” that catered toward teaching children about science with experiments they could participate in themselves. In the giant kaleidoscope that I built and maintained, kids could draw their own pictures and put them in the kaleidoscope while they learned about light and reflection.
With organizations like the House of General Science and Society of Physics Students at RIT, I helped build spaces where STEM underclassmen could feel welcome and network with their peers. Through these organizations I participated in various public outreach and charity events.