Leadership

Outside of my academic life, I have taken on various other leadership roles within the Center for Infectious Disease Dynamics and Entomology Graduate Student Association. I regularly participate in the events hosted by these groups and am passionate about being engaged within our department, but also broadly within Penn State’s research community. Within these groups, I have served the graduate student community as secretary, Social Chair, Webmaster, and Social media chair. 

I have served the role of advocacy and outreach co-chair in Penn State's Science Policy Society. My job included organizing service and outreach events. Additionally, within this organization, I’ve had the chance to represent Penn State STEM on capitol hill and had the opportunity to share my research with organizations, congressional offices, and the staff of Conor Lamb (PA) Rep.

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I have worked with the Pennsylvania State Education Association on various occasions as an outreach Educator for the Department of Entomology.

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During the global spread of SARS-CoV-2. I served as one of Penn State's first Public Health Ambassadors. 

PSU'S Public Health Ambassador Program was part of a newly-created peer health initiative designed to provide students at University Park with guidance around healthy behaviors and social norms related to COVID-19.

Through the program, I safely and strategically engaged in dialogue with the PSU community about the importance of mask-wearing, physical distancing, proper cough/hand hygiene, and to ensure that questions and expectations surrounding health and safety guidelines at the University are addressed. 

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About the Program

My goal as a Health Ambassador was to empower students about healthy decision-making through helpful and non-threatening exchanges. 

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The goals of the program were to:

• Support the COVID-19 reopening and operating plan that has been outlined by campus administration in collaboration with the Penn State Back to State initiatives

• Utilize peer-to-peer influence to engage the campus and local community in healthy behaviors including physical distancing, wearing face coverings,  practicing hand and cough hygiene and using hand sanitizer

• Provide the University Park campus and the State College community with visible public health educators and representatives to assist and answer questions related to COVID-19 reopening and operation

 The Penn State Entomology Graduate Student Association (EGSA) aims to facilitate the social and professional bond between students, maintain communication and collaboration with the faculty to enhance the student experience, and develop innovative opportunities for professional development, public outreach, and teaching. I have played various roles in EGSA and served as a social chair, and secretary. I also played various other roles on the outreach community and graduate student recruitment committee. 

Being a Penn State graduate student has allowed me the opportunity to interact with a diverse array of
individuals. Many of these interactions have been through the school’s Office of Graduate Equity Program (OGEEP). I have had the opportunity to actively participate in programs aimed at revamping current recruitment practices at the university level and providing ongoing support for students after their acceptance into the university. Students from various identities come to Penn State excited about the research being conducted here.

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Furthermore, I mentor SROP (Summer Research Opportunity), and REU (Research
Experience for Undergraduates), students conducting research in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Being an SROP/REU alumnus myself I know first-hand how these programs changed the face of science for me and provided me with a pool of diverse mentors.

From 2018-2021 I have served as a mentor for the ENVISIONS STEM Career Day events. This event targets young women, typically in middle school.  They travel to Penn State for a day of hands-on workshops ranging from various STEM areas, Q&A panel sessions, and stimulating keynotes. This event is a favorite of mine as it has been so rewarding to see to the growth of the girls and to hear how their journey in science has progressed.

Performed interviewing duties of Pennsylvania high school juniors for the purposes of scholarship disbursement.

Within my department, I helped in crafting our first diversity statement, and serve as one of the graduate student reps on the associated committee. In creating this committee our goal was to cultivate a community of acceptance, inclusion, and empathy by offering and supporting diversity training. This year we have hosted a workshop based on achieving cultural agility and intercultural competence. Additionally, we have set up a diversity lecture series aimed to encourage dialogue through civic education, and narratives on diversity and inclusion from scientists of varied backgrounds. We are currently working with Penn State’s Graduate school to drop the requirement for GRE scores due to the impact It has on
the recruitment of URM’s.

Through these activities, we hope students and faculty can incorporate the department’s diversity principles into practice when working with the public and peers. Being able to participate in these diversity initiatives has enlightened me to their importance at all levels of the academic ladder.