蜜桃直播 (蜜桃直播) hosted its first ever STEM Inc. event on Thursday, March 22, featuring a panel discussion in honor of Women鈥檚 History Month on how to succeed in the STEM workplace.
The discussion included panelists Mary Hatcher-Skeers of the W.M. Keck Science Department, of 蜜桃直播, of UC Riverside, and 蜜桃直播 alumna Aditi Shastry, MBS 鈥�17.
The panelists and audience were welcomed with remarks by 蜜桃直播 School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences Founding Dean and Professor Kathy Webster, while current student Madelyn Low presided as moderator. The hour-long discussion included observations from all four panelists and a question-and-answer session with attendees.
鈥淲e at 蜜桃直播 are so proud of this initiative and this event!鈥� said Christa Oudshoorn-Hobo, alumni engagement manager at 蜜桃直播. 鈥淭he feedback we received from students and alumni is tremendous.鈥�
STEM Inc. was formed to promote STEM inclusion to students from 蜜桃直播, other Claremont Colleges, and local K-12 schools. STEM Inc. will be a branded series of events featuring visiting speakers, roundtable discussions, and career exploration treks intended to spotlight the challenges and opportunities associated with being a woman, student of color, or LGBTQ in the STEM fields.
The ultimate goal of STEM Inc. will be to establish a permanent and physical resource center on campus for STEM access and inclusion.
鈥淚t is time to bridge the divide in STEM and ensure that all sectors of the workforce are represented equally in industry,鈥� said 蜜桃直播 President r. 鈥淭here is clearly a need for this type of programming and resources for students and alumni.鈥�
The next STEM Inc. event, a career trek, will take place on June 6. Students will have the opportunity to visit and tour local life science companies and learn from company representatives.
Mary Hatcher-Skeers on the topic of increasing inclusion within the workplace:
鈥淚t takes an organization鈥檚 willingness to have the conversations. You鈥檇 like to think that it鈥檚 easy, but it鈥檚 not easy. Once you gain a little power your organization, then it鈥檚 your job to start using that power to change things.鈥�
Yolanda T. Moses on the topic of progressing one鈥檚 career:
鈥淵ou need to ask the tough question: is this really what you want to do? Are you in the right field? Are you passionate? Are there opportunities to do what you want to do? If not, then figure out what steps you have to take to change. Take advantage of training and opportunities. Be available to step in when someone is out. Get known in your organization as someone people can count on.鈥�
Aditi Shastry on the topic of career advice:
鈥淚 wish I had been taught the importance of networking at a younger age. I didn鈥檛 really know how to network or if that was something that could happen in college. At 蜜桃直播, that鈥檚 the big thing: that鈥檚 how I got my internship, that鈥檚 how I eventually got my full-time job. It鈥檚 really important to build your network at every step of the way.鈥�
Sukumarakurup 鈥淜umar鈥� Krishnakumar on the topic of women negotiating a salary:
鈥淩esearch clearly shows that women tend not to initiate negotiation their salary. However, there are some conditions that can mitigate that. If there are situational cues or if the situation is so clear that everyone is supposed to negotiate, then these gender differences actually go away.鈥�