Spring summit 2022
Building a career path in STEM: Following your passions inside and outside of the lab
March 19, 2022
We are finally back with our Spring Summit! The hybrid event was hosted by Northeastern University and focused on careers in STEM. A copy of the event program with speaker bios can be found here.
The day started with a keynote seminar, given by Dr. Marinna Madrid, co-founder and CPO of Cellino. She shared her career trajectory from graduating high school wanting to pursue journalism, pivoting to find her passion and proclivity for science at Riverside City College, earning a PhD in Applied Physics at Harvard University, and taking her research there to found Cellino. Dr. Madrid shared some of her research highlights and explained how co-founding a start-up aligned with her values of adventure and independence. You can view the keynote in its entirety here.
Mocktail hour!
Keynote speaker, Dr. Marinna Madrid, addressing attendees and answering questions
Event organizers with the keynote speaker, Dr. Marinna Madrid
Attendees then split up into four parallel workshop sessions. In “Picturing Research,” Rosalind Reid discussed the history of scientific imagery and the impact figures and art can have on our own research. Attendees then drew and presented their research using paper and markers, with no jargon or plots.
Dr. Eric Robsky Huntley led an action-oriented workshop titled “Finding Your Way into Advocacy and Activist Research.” Participants were prompted to reflect on how their research could be connected to activism, identify applicable skills to advocacy work, and develop action items. These ranged from researching causes of interest to reaching out to organizations and asking how we can help.
Dr. Azza Gadir discussed the impact networking has had on her career path in her workshop, “Networking in Academia and Industry.” She emphasized the importance of LinkedIn networking in her journey through a variety of career transitions and offered some tips to help attendees get started. Dr. Gadir advised attendees to put themselves out there (as awkward as that might feel!), ask for informational interviews concisely, and prepare questions for the interviewee in advance. You can view Dr. Gadir’s presentation here.
Dr. Kimberlee Eberle-Sudré and Sarah M. Rovito shared their expertise transitioning into policy and currently work in Washington, DC. They covered topics including how to prepare for a career in public policy while in graduate school, what not to do, and different avenues to enter the policy world.
Networking workshop facilitated by Dr. Azza Gadir
Sarah M. Rovito co-hosting Public Policy workshop
Dr. Kimberlee Eberle-Sudré co-hosting Public Policy workshop
Picture Research attendee describing his drawing to the table
Picture Research workshop
Activist Research workshop with Dr. Eric Robsky Huntley
In true hybrid form, we hosted three virtual panelists for our Career Paths Panel. The conversation with audience Q&A included finding mentors; balancing career goals with family expectations, financial needs, and code of ethics; and finding the right work environment. One highlight of the session was hearing about each panelists’ career values and how it’s informed their trajectory:
Dr. Cinda Scott director of center providing study abroad opportunities in marine biology: creativity, autonomy, and intellectual freedom, guiding others, creating community engagement program
Dr. Allena Goren DePaoli project leader in consulting: building and mentoring teams, having opportunities to learn quickly
Dr. Haley Hazlett program manager in public policy: helping others, affecting change quickly, becoming a more active participant in shaping our society
You can view the moderated panel and audience Q&A in its entirety here.
Ice breaker activity (“What did you want to be when you grew up?”)
Hybrid Career Paths Panel Q&A
Career Path Panelists
Attendees had the opportunity to connect during breakfast, lunch, and a mocktail social hour. Thank you for attending and we’ll see you next year!
Thank you to all of our co-sponsoring schools and to our funding sources: MIT Office of Graduate Education, Northeastern College of Science, and Harvard/MIT COOP.
