Connecting with a Mentor/Ncuire

 Hello All-

What a busy/productive semester this has been! I think this is probably the most studying I've had to do for any of my classes thus far. This past week I attended/presented a project at NCUIRE. It was great seeing other STEM-TRAIN students presenting their work as well!

We've been challenged to think about networking and the skills we've learned this semester. I will say, I did not have luck with LinkedIn (I'm probably not supposed to say that but I found that I was only able to follow many of the people I tried linking up with through various employers, and was unable to message them). So here's my take on networking that has worked for me: I get involved as much as I can with professors, I volunteer to help with events when I can, and I put myself out there for any potential opportunities. When I started at ASU in Spring of 2022, I didn't know any professors and only knew 1-3 students. I took volunteer opportunities in classes. For example, my ecology professor asked if any students were interested in helping to set up burrowing owl sanctuaries on campus so I volunteered. I later asked if I could do NCUIRE in his lab which he agreed to. This has given me the opportunity to present at several symposiums and network with people at and outside of ASU. Other NCUIRE students have had a similar experience and have presented their work at symposiums in other states.

So what has worked for me is asking how I can get involved. Can I volunteer? Can I join a lab? Can I assist with a project? How can I get involved? This has been useful in networking. If you're interested in research or working in a lab, please reach out, I would be happy to give a tour of the Black Widow lab! 

Cultural Intelligence

This week, we had the opportunity to learn about Cultural Intelligence. My understanding of cultural intelligence centers around using compassion, empathy and understanding when interacting with people as we all have diverse backgrounds and upbringings. It's important for me to be a better listener to the struggle of others and be aware of how I can affect positive change. Cultural Intelligence can range from ethnicity to gender, age, abilities and/or background. For the purpose of this post and to raise awareness around the LGBTQ+ community, I'd like to focus on awareness of gender.

I think one of the most important pieces of Cultural Intelligence is Cultural Responsiveness. It challenges us to suspend our own beliefs and perspectives to give space to another (by give space meaning, allow someone to be their true, authentic self, without pushing our own thoughts and feelings upon them). I think this becomes increasingly useful as we begin to see more diversity and inclusion in companies and businesses. We will have the opportunity to work with a variety of people and one of the first things that come to mind are pronouns. Using someones pronouns validates that we respect them and who they are. A great resource in learning about pronouns is the GLSEN. GLSEN encourages us not to use verbiage like "preferred pronouns" as a persons pronouns are not preferred, it's the pronouns that must be used. One of the key points of Cultural Responsiveness is "I adjust my behavior to be most inclusive of another person" and I find that very fitting in correct pronoun usage. 

I also believe it's really important to draw attention to transgender folks. Correct pronoun usage is important when interacting with transgender members of our communities. One way we can help is by familiarizing ourselves with the struggles that transgender folks face and being kind/compassionate in how we speak. While we're on the subject, I want to point out a few statistics reported by Minnesota Department of Health:

-42% of LGBTQIA+/2S youth seriously considered attempting suicide in the past year, including more than half of transgender and nonbinary youth.

-Transgender and nonbinary youth who reported having pronouns respected by all the people they lived with attempted suicide at half the rate of those who did not have their pronouns respected by anyone with whom they lived.

-LGBTQIA+/2S youth who had access to spaces that affirmed their sexual orientation and gender identity reported lower of attempting suicide. (Trevor Project’s 2021 National Survey on LGBTQ Youth Mental Health)

These are very small changes we as a collective society can make to positively affect change for another person. Below are some amazing resources that provide data/statistics in why we should support pronoun usage.

Gender Identity Archives. The Trevor Project. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://www.thetrevorproject.org/resources/category/gender-identity/

Pronouns: A guide from GLSEN. GLSEN. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://www.glsen.org/activity/pronouns-guide-glsen#:~:text=What%20Are%20Pronouns%3F,pronouns%2C%20or%20none%20at%20all.

Using a person’s correct pronouns saves lives - health.state.mn.us. (n.d.). Retrieved April 16, 2023, from https://www.health.state.mn.us/communities/suicide/documents/pronounssuicideprev.pdf