Hosted by the Science Outreach Initiative
This summer, we will be featuring blog posts written by PhD students who participated in Career Services’ Career Exploration Initiative (CEI), a program that helps doctoral candidates explore their career interests through networking opportunities with advanced degree professionals. Click here to learn more about CEI.
I had a fantastic experience working with Dr. Julee Farley and Dr. Hanna Sherrill from the Science Outreach Initiative. Through our regular meetings, I had the opportunity to learn about everything involved in developing and implementing effective science outreach. My conversations with Dr. Sherrill helped me identify gaps in my own background as a science communicator, and she connected me with resources to deepen my understanding of developmental psychology and lesson planning. With Dr. Farley, we examined some of my past outreach materials and proposed some new options, evaluating their effectiveness along the way. She also taught me strategies to elicit meaningful feedback from participants, allowing science communicators to continually improve their science outreach.
The mentorship of Dr. Farley and Dr. Sherrill taught me how to holistically develop, implement, and evaluate age-appropriate science outreach materials, positioning me to do effective science outreach during my PhD. Other components of the Career Exploration Initiative allowed me to explore different types of science outreach careers. Â
This experience was bolstered by my informational interviews with other science outreach professionals. Dr. Farley and Dr. Sherrill connected me with experts in formal and informal science outreach across Philadelphia and the East Coast. These interviews were eye-opening, showcasing an immense diversity of science outreach careers. I talked with outreach professionals who have experience at a variety of institutions, including universities, non-profits, and museums. One of my conversations with Dr. Phyllis Newbill of Virginia Tech’s Center for Educational Networks and Impacts provided me with the most valuable piece of advice I received during the fellowship: only participate in outreach to the extent that it is sustainable after I leave. Dr. Newbill recalled instances where younger siblings were upset that they didn’t get to do a science outreach experience that their older siblings had enjoyed. As a younger sibling, I could see how disheartening this would be for both families and educators. This advice has driven me to develop outreach materials to supplement existing outreach programs, rather than create my own program.Â
The Career Exploration Initiative has strengthened my confidence in my ability to explore non-academic career options post-PhD and network with people in roles I am interested in. I think any PhD student interested in broadening their horizons and exploring non-faculty career paths would benefit greatly from this program.Â
