Lack of Diversity in Science

Students from underrepresented groups often abandon careers in sciences due to feelings of inadequate preparation, lack of role models, and feeling like a foreigner in the culture of science (N​ational Academy of Engineering and Institute of Medicine 1997​). This can be addressed, in part, by creating inclusive leadership training within STEM classrooms. 

My Students

During the last 13 years, my lab and my classroom have been populated by diverse students. There is no racial or ethnic majority among STEM majors at Agnes Scott college. Because of this, I strive to make my teaching and research spaces inclusive.

How I Mentor and Teach

Every semester, in every class, ​I make a pledge to meet my students where they are. Together, as a class, we all work to get where we want to be at the end of the semester. I have designed several large creative science communication projects which encourage students to engage with primary scientific literature in new ways. Students produce polished pieces of creative writing through multiple drafts and peer review. Later in the semester, students design art projects inspired by recent primary literature papers that they then use to communicate the science to a lay audience. Many science students are uncomfortable with writing, especially creative writing, and, for many, the idea of doing an art-science project is scary. I work hard throughout the semester to create a classroom where trying new things is expected and fully supported. Based on my end of course evaluations, I have been successful at doing this.

By creating a supportive, inclusive, and safe space in my classroom, I can challenge my students to try new things and to expand their scientific horizons. These projects provide students with a real ownership of the material, which can greatly boost the confidence of a beginning scientist.

Since graduate school, I have included undergraduate mentees in all of my research projects. I​n the past 13 years in my lab, I have mentored a total of 46 undergraduate researchers, who were women from diverse and underrepresented backgrounds.  These intensive research experiences have provided these minority women with opportunities to be intimately involved with the actual “doing” of science, something which is not available to undergraduates at some institutions. I’ve found that my work is greatly strengthened by the diversity of ideas and approaches that comes with the diversity of students.