Going back to high school
Well I graduated high school in 2006 but I was recently invited to ‘come back’ (online) and talk to some of the students about my experiences during college, at my current job, and in living Europe. My former high school is Weber Institute of Technology located in Stockton, California. This alternative charter school aims to promote kids to technical jobs, either by university or vocational training. The school itself is free, the students don’t have to pay to attend, but the students are held to higher standards than traditional public schools in return for hands-on learning and smaller class sizes. Such a school is essential for a place like Stockton, where only 18% of the population holds a bachelor’s degree or higher (the average in CA is 34%), and has a poverty rate of 20.5%. (the 2020 national average is 9.2%). You can read more about the school here.
Knowing first-hand what the atmosphere is like around education in Stockton, I tried my best to convince the students that college is a viable option for them. Most of their questions involved payment for college, which is absolutely the biggest hurdle they will have to face. Fortunately, the California public university system offers a lot of financial support for students who have a financial need. Still, they will have to be in debt to attend college, which is not a situation people from low socioeconomic status are comfortable with.
Overall, I felt like the conversations were really productive and some of the students asked several specific questions, so I think they were hearing some of this information for the first time. At the end, I gave the students my email so they can contact me with any questions or needed advice. I hope that some take up the offer!
Weber fun fact: Some of the several hands-on classes available at Weber are the automotive classes. As a beginner, you learn how to change tires, oil, and brake pads. If students want to pursue a career in auto repair, there are more advanced classes. I took the intro class and the auto teacher, Mr. Yonan (shown on the right in the ‘classroom’ below), still works there! You can learn about the auto program here.
BLAST XVI
The Bacterial Locomotion and Signal Transduction (BLAST) conference takes place every two years, and at a new location almost every time! But due to the coronavirus pandemic, we of course had to opt for an online format this year. Despite not seeing my friends face-to-face, this years conference was incredibly fun! I had the honor of helping organize the social media component of the conference, which was a great new experience, and I gave a talk about my project with Streptomyces spore transport. Best of all, this year there was a SciArt component of the conference, where every speaker had three artists make a piece inspired by their talk. One of the artists I had was Dr. Lizah van der Aart who made the amazing illustration shown here. I love the comic style of the art she made, which brings out the dynamics of the system. Lizah makes all kinds of science-inspired art and you can find it on her etsy shop here.
I hope that the next Gordon Research Conference: Sensory Transduction in Microorganisms will be able to take place in-person in January 2022. Since my first STIM conference in 2014, I have gone to every single one. It’s also been several years since I’ve gotten to see many friends and collaborators. The location is set in Ventura, California in a beach hotel so I’m sure everyone else is hoping to be there too!
The 2020 GRC STIM conference and all its attendees —>
The best part of the GRC STIM is getting to spend time with everyone outside. Even though it takes place in January, it’s always warm and sunny. Pictures from STIM 2020, like this one with Ariane Briegel, make me excited for what’s to come!