Diversity in Science Carnival #16: Asian-Pacific Heritage Month

This month’s Diversity in Science Carnival is dedicated to Asian-Pacific Heritage Month. We’ll talk about strong Asian-Pacific women, Asian-Americans in education, and at the end there is an entire section dedicated to educators who would like to incorporate more information about Asian-Pacific Americans into their classroom.

For demographic facts on the Asian-Pacific Islander population, see the US Census Bureau’s Press Release on Asian-Pacific Heritage Month. Some highlights of the report are that there are 17 million Asians living in the United States; 5.6% of the population.  Asians excel in educational attainment; 50% of adults aged 25 and over possess a college degree. This is compared to only 25% of the overall American population over age 25. Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders account for 0.4% of the population, number 1.2 million people.

A recent report by the Economic Policy Institute found that despite their higher levels of educational attainment, Asian Americans continued to suffer long-term unemployment in 2011. They concluded that the patterns of unemployment were a result of nativity (a high number of foreign-born Asians), racial bias, and the high number of Asians that reside in California, a state which has struggled in the economic crisis. It is unknown if these same unemployment rates are also within STEM fields, which seemingly have no shortage of jobs. Within STEM fields, 6% of undergraduate (2008) and graduate (2009) students are of Asian-Pacific Islander descent.

The Asian-Pacific Islander population contribute to the rich cultural diversity of the United States. The Pacific Island National Park blog featured photos and videos from Pacific Islander Heritage Day on May 11, 2012 at Pu’ukohola Heiau National Historic Site in Hawaii.  Participants in this event had the opportunity to experience traditional demonstrations and activities related to Native Hawaiian culture and the cultures of other areas of the Pacific.

Professionally, the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers (SASE) exists to advance Asian heritage scientists and engineers in education and employment. Andrea Stith blogged about the first annual meeting of SASE which occurred on the weekend of September 30, 2011. The second annual  meeting will occur from October 11-13th, 2012 in Baltimore, Maryland. If you’re interested in following SASE, they have their own blog as well.

Asian-Pacific Women 

At the UW SACNAS Chapter Blog, Dr. Amber Caracol talks about her lineage of strong women, stemming back to her family history in Korea and the Philippines.

Dr. Amber Caracol and Mama Caracol (her grandmother) at Mama Caracol’s 75th birthday celebration

Amber, who is the former president of the UW SACNAS Chapter and now teaches Anatomy and Physiology and Biology at North Seattle Community College, decided to host her students as guest bloggers on her personal site. She talks about Celebrating Diversity in her course, Biology 100 and how her class honored Asian-Pacific Heritage Month through blogging. The posts are about a variety of topics from teaching children about science, what diversity means to Tomoko Okada and how she has developed more confidence in her identity as a result, one person’s story of personal growth after attending a non-Christian school for the first time in their life, Raphael Davis’ experiences traveling in Asia in the Navy and his experiences living on the diverse ship, the USS Kitty Hawk,  the science behind the life of Jonathon Franz, who works as a firefighter and paramedic in Tacoma and traveled to Haiti in 2011, and Rebecca Y’s experience working with Earth Corps. While not all of these posts are directly related to Asian-Pacific Heritage month, they highlight the diverse experiences of Asian-Pacific (and non-Asian-Pacific) scientists at the community college level.

A post by an Indian field biologist who discusses her experiences balancing work and home and comparing US and Indian graduate school and research traditions.  If you are a mother doing field work, she provides great advice on how to take your child with you.

Continuing with the amazing female Asian-Pacific American scientist theme, Hyphen Magazine, which is dedicated to Asian American culture,  featured Jane Luu for women’s history month. Dr. Luu is a Vietnamese-American astronomer who co-discovered the Kuiper Belt while still in graduate school!

The STEMinist blog recently featured Materials & Process Engineer Michelle Hsia, who got to work on a Forumla SAE race car as an undergraduate. The blog itself was founded by Ann Hoang, an Asian-American Software Engineer at the University of Oregon.

Looking for a way to inspire more girls to get involved in math and science? Three engineering students think they have a way to do this by exposing young girls to STEM using toys. Their project was featured as a Kickstarter of the Week and you can help them bring this to fruition.

Asian-Americans in Education

As mentioned earlier, data support the notion that Asian-Americans are successful in academia. Some attribute Asian-American success to the cultural values passed from parents on to their children. On the other hand, the high levels of success lead to stereotypes of Asian-Americans being the “model minority” or the assumption that all Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders are monolithically successful.

The National Commission on Asian American and Pacific Islander Research in Education (CARE) at New York University conducts research on this very topic.  A book specific to Asian-Americans in education is Asians in the Ivory Tower: Dilemmas of Racial Inequality in American Higher Education by Robert T. Teranishi. One review of the book noted that Teranishi addressed issues in data collection and data quality when examining the Asian-Pacific Islander American community and another addresses the Asian American male experience in higher education.

There are several notable college presidents who are Asian-American or Pacific Islander. To name a few:

Jim Yong Kim, M.D., Ph.D. (Anthropology)
President, Dartmouth College
http://www.dartmouth.edu/~president/bio/
next president of the World Bank

Mark Mitsui (Educational Leadership and Policy)
President, North Seattle Community College
https://people.northseattle.edu/users/mmitsui

Bob H. Suzuki, Ph.D. (Aerospace Engineering)
President Emeritus of California State Polytechnic University, Pomona
http://www.csupomona.edu/~ahimsacenter/ahimsa_advisory.shtml#suzuki

Leslie E. Wong, Ph.D. (Educational Psychology)
President, Northern Michigan University
http://web.archive.org/web/20100527092544/http://www.nmu.edu/president/bio.htm
now President, San Francisco State University
http://www.sfsu.edu/~news/2012/spring/71.html

Henry T. Yang, Ph.D. (Mechanical Engineering)
Chancellor, University of California, Santa Barbara
https://chancellor.ucsb.edu/about/

Phyllis Wise, Ph.D. (Biology)
Chancellor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
http://oc.illinois.edu/bio.html

For Educators

For educators interested in teaching students about Asian-Pacific American scientists, you can track the contributions of Asian-Pacific American scientists using this timeline that goes back to 1901!  Also, there is a book that profiles Asian-American scientists for grades 6 and up. If you’d like to teach your students about the most brilliant Asian Americans of all time, this website has you covered! You can also teach about Asian American innovators

Speaking of younger students, the Angry Asian Man Blog highlighted two remarkable high school scientists: Angela Zhang, who won a $100,000 scholarship for her innovative cancer research and Li Boynton, who was invited to sit in with Michelle Obama during the President’s State of the Union Address.

Just for fun, why not teach your students about the science behind the wok? Or how about an entertaining discussion on Asian earwax?

For college students and those who are of drinking age, you can discuss the biology behind the “Asian Flush”, which may be caused by rice. Amasian offers both the most specific and the most entertaining scientific approach to the “Asian Glow” (or the “Asian Flush”) resulting from the buildup of acetaldehyde. He also discusses the emasculation of Asian American men in popular culture and provides the perfect mix of humor and science to illustrate his points.

Amasian provides a scientific approach to the “Asian Glow” and also uses humor to illustrate his findings

Why not teach about all of the Asian-Americans who won a Nobel Prize? You could start by focusing on Steven Chu, a quantum mechanic who won the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997.

Here is a list of several other notable Asian-Pacific researchers and their fields:

Nobel Prize Winners in Physics
Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Steven Chu
Chen Ning Yang
Tsung Dao Lee
Samuel Chao Chung Ting

Nuclear physicist (experiments proved Lee/Yang theory)
Chien-shiung Wu

Nobel laureates in medicine
Har Gobind Khorana
Susumu Tonegawa

AIDS researchers
Flossie Wong-Staal
David Da-i Ho

Information Specialist in Computer Security
Tsutomo Shimomura

Expert on Superconductivity Technology
Paul Ching-wu Chu

Sickle-Cell Disease Researcher
Constance Tom Noguchi

Stay Tuned and Keep Blogging!

Thanks for reading. Special thanks to Dr. Danielle Lee of The Urban Scientist and Dr. Alberto Roca of MinorityPostdoc.org for contributing materials to this month’s edition.  The next Diversity in Science Carnival in June will honor Pride Month. Stay tuned for the next host…

Sabrina Bonaparte is a PhD student in Sociology at the University of Washington (for one more week!) She is the manager of the UW SACNAS Student Chapter blog.  

Student Spotlight: William Edelman

Name: William Edelman
Department: Genome Sciences
Year in School:  2nd Year Grad
Hometown: Albuquerque, NM
Ethnicity: Latino

What carries cellular functions and processes? What can relay information to the nucleus of a cell and says, “hey! your environment is changing, access this or that gene and make more of me or my counterparts!” Why, proteins and their modifications of course! These are the aspects of proteomics Billy is most interested in. His research focuses on these aspects of oxidative stress in the baker’s yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and in aging-related disease. Although Billy loves his science, he does enjoy mentoring other students, cycling dozens of miles at a time into the countryside surrounding Seattle and. He is a native Ecuadorean, former New Yorker and an enchanted New Mexican at heart.

William’s CV is located below:

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Guest Blog: My Lineage of Strong Women

What do you get when you cross a bookkeeper and a baker?  You get, Me!

Visiting the Mayan ruins at Caracol

My name is Amber Caracol and I was born and raised in Hawaii.  I am in my first year of teaching Biology after receiving my PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology from the University of Washington last summer.  I am a first generation college graduate and the first person in my family to pursue a doctoral degree.  While a graduate student, I studied DNA repair mechanisms and how they related to cancer and chemotherapy.  I love teaching science and am passionate about promoting diversity in higher education, especially among women and other underrepresented minorities in the sciences.

I have been influenced by many great women including my family members, friends, teachers, mentors and women in history. I am so lucky to have many positive influences within my family, including my Aunties, Cousins and Sisters.   In honor of Women’s History Month, I would like to share stories of my family and how I became who I am today.

As a child, I often wondered what I would be when I grow up.  Would I be a baker like my Dad or a bookkeeper like my Mom?  Or maybe a clerk typist or a clinical service representative, like my Grandmothers?  When I was 7, I remember thinking that maybe I could be a doctor to help people when they get sick.  I had a couple of part-time jobs throughout high school- a teacher’s assistant at a preschool, a summer camp counselor, and then an assistant at a pottery shop.  I enjoyed these opportunities because I was able to interact with children and help them develop into their own person.  Many kids had their birthday parties at the pottery shop and although sometimes exhausting, nothing was better than helping them create masterpieces of art and seeing the joy and smiles it brought.

I attended La Pietra School, a private all-girls college preparatory school in Honolulu, from 6^th through 12^th grade.  I learned many important study skills and gained confidence in academics that would serve as a foundation for my life as a scholar.  When I entered my high school years, I still didn’t really know what I would be.  I excelled in school.  I was very involved with extracurricular activities like student government, peer leadership and yearbook.  I was active in sports- at one point I played volleyball, basketball and paddled.  If I were taller, I would have liked to pursue playing volleyball, but I was pretty sure that wasn’t going to happen and decided to focus on my education.  Somewhere deep down, I knew that education was going to be the key to my success and a way to help others while making the world a better place.

After many, many years of schooling, first for my high school diploma from La Pietra School, then my Bachelor’s degree from the University of Hawaii and most recently, my doctoral degree from the University of Washington, I know that I would not be where I am today without the influences of strong women in my family.

Although I didn’t have the privilege to know them, I would like to share the stories of two of my great-grandmothers (one from my maternal Korean side and the other from my paternal Filipino side), who were both strong women and pioneers in their day.

My maternal great-grandmother, Mallak (Yee) Choi, was a picture bride from Korea.  She came to Hawaii to marry my great-grandfather, Sum Cho Choi, a man whom she had only seen in a picture.  Her parents died when she was 10 and her brother thought she could have a better life in Hawaii.  He paid a middle man in Hawaii who matched her with my great-grandfather, Sum Cho. Great-grandmother Mallak was 16 when she arrived in Hawaii to marry a man whom she thought was in his 30’s.  She soon found out that her groom-to-be was an older Korean man and that he sent a picture of himself when he was younger.  Great-grandfather Sum Cho thought he was about to marry a woman in her 30’s, not a teenager.  The middle man had tricked them, but she didn’t have any money to go back to Korea.  Despite their age difference, they married and started a family together on the island of Lanai.

Great-grandfather Sum Cho worked really hard in the pineapple fields and cleaned the bath houses to earn the little money that they had to raise their family.  Great-grandmother Mallak did whatever she could to contribute.  She did laundry and made “swipe”, fermented pineapple juice that she made in bottles under the house to serve to the plantation workers.  Because this was illegal, the police would come to the house to break the bottles she had stored under the house.  She had seven children, one of whom is my maternal grandmother, Sarah (Choi) Palisbo, who would share some of her stories of growing up in old Hawaii and working in the fields.  My great-grandmother Mallak had no idea that she would marry and start a family with a man 30 years older than her or live her life on the plantation.    I can’t begin to imagine what she felt throughout her life other than complete love for her children and wanting to give them a better life, which she did exactly that!

My great-grandmother Mallak at the age of 82.

Around the same time that my great-grandmother Mallak left Korea, my paternal great-grandmother, Maria (Segocio) Caracol, left the Philippines as a stow-away on a ship bound for Hawaii.  It was on this ship that she met my great-grandfather Damian Caracol.  The story goes that the Filipino migrants on board started taking picks of whom they would marry when they reached Hawaii.  Papa Damian picked Mama Maria and they wed once they got to Hawaii.  They had seven children, including my paternal grandfather, Theodulfo Caracol, and made their living working in the sugar cane fields.  Papa Damian also was in the bootleg liquor business to make ends meet any way they could and raise their family.  I often wonder how Mama Maria felt when she decided to make the journey to Hawaii and then as a stow-away on a ship to a place that she had never been before.  What a brave woman to seek a better life for herself, despite the risks.  I just can’t imagine what it would be like to live on a ship with the constant fear of getting caught.  I am so thankful that ALL of my great-grandparents made it safely to Hawaii and started their families.

My great-grandparents, Papa Damian and Mama Maria Caracol

Papa Theodulfo Caracol, my paternal grandfather married my grandmother, Mama Victoria (Tangonan) Caracol.  Her parents, Teodorico and Emiliana Tangonan, came to Hawaii from the island of Luzon from the Ilocos region of the Philippines.  They first arrived on the island of Kauai and worked on the sugar cane plantations.  They had 4 children, my grandma Victoria and her siblings, Victor, Robert and Mary.

Papa and Mama Caracol had six children, my Dad, Richard, and his siblings Theodulfo Jr., Debra, Roy, Guinevere, and Ariadne.  Mama Caracol is such a strong and loving woman.  She is the backbone and cares for everyone in our family: her children, us grandchildren and also now, her great-grandchildren, my nieces and nephews.  She is nurturing and supportive, sharing her wisdom no matter what the situation.  She is a great example for me of someone who does what she is passionate about, which for Mama is traveling and seeing the world.  She is in her seventh decade and still lives her life to the fullest: working, traveling, and spending time with the family.  As our family continues to grow, she still maintains a close relationship with each of us and has provided support, strength and nurturing whenever I need it.

Mama and I at her 75th Birthday Celebration!

I come from a lineage of strong women and my mother, Paula Caracol, is no exception.  Her paternal grandparents, Angel and Gaudencia (Humalon) Paalisbo, also came to Hawaii from the island of Cebu in the Visayas of the Philippines and had my grandfather, Theodoro Palisbo (he changed the spelling of his last name to Palisbo).  Grandpa Palisbo was in the Army and Grandma Palisbo was a clerk typist.  They had three children, my Mom, Paula and her younger siblings, Peter and Amy.

My grandma, Sarah Palisbo

My Mom has been a bookkeeper since she was a young woman and one of her clients was a bakery, which is where she met my dad, Richard Caracol, a baker.  It is from my Mom that I get the analytical and innovative traits while inheriting creativity and originality from my Dad.  For as long as I can remember, my mom worked very hard to raise my sisters and me herself.  She filled multiple roles in her career and as a parent.  She worked three jobs and would say that she had three jobs, one for each of us.  While growing up, her main job was running her own tax and bookkeeping business.  She also ran a preschool and was a Christmas card salesperson.  She worked around the clock in order to provide for us and allow us to receive good education.  With the help of scholarships to defray the cost of tuition, my sisters and I all received college-preparatory education in high school that enabled us to be successful in college.  I am the second person in our family (after my older sister, Karisa) to receive a Bachelor’s degree.  I earned my Bachelor of Science in Biology with distinction from the University of Hawaii in 2004.  Karisa received her Bachelor’s degree in International Business from Linfield College in 2002 and our younger sister, Charity, earned her Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Hawaii this past December.  It is from my mom that I learned hard work and perseverance.  She never gave up when things got hard but just kept pushing forward.  She has instilled this work ethic in me and a desire to pursue my interests no matter how daunting or difficult.

Mom and daughters, Karisa, Charity and I

When I was in high school, my Mom always told me that the grade doesn’t matter, only to be sure that I did the best that I could and I truly believed it.  In high school, I was very active in many things, as I mentioned above.  Despite the busy schedule, I liked to participate in all the activities and took hard classes because I thought they were interesting.  I knew that my grades didn’t really matter and that I would only be content with myself knowing that I have done my best.  It is the latter sentiment that allows me to push myself every day.  Becoming the class valedictorian and earning various awards, scholarships and fellowships throughout my schooling was a by-product of trying my best.  I wouldn’t necessarily say that I was the smartest in my classes, but I do believe that my dedication, perseverance and giving my all no matter what the situation, is how I have gotten to this point in my life.  My mom is someone who possesses all of those qualities.  It is through all of these experiences both inside and outside of the classroom that I have learned about subjects like Biology and Math and also about life and inner strength.

While studying at the University of Hawaii, I initially planned on being a History major, but I got hooked on science after I took Introduction to Cell and Molecular Biology and did undergraduate research through the Haumana (IMSD) and MARC Programs.  I loved learning about DNA, how our bodies can repair damaged DNA and how cancer can develop when these pathways stop working.  It was around this time that I realized how much I loved science and doing research as much as I loved learning new things and helping others.  Shortly after, I decided that I wanted to pursue a doctoral degree and become a Science Professor.  I had no idea what to expect from graduate school or what it meant to be a graduate student.  Matriculating into the Molecular and Cellular Biology Program at the University of Washington was an exciting and very daunting challenge.  This meant leaving my family, friends and everything that I had ever known to start a new life as a graduate student in Seattle, not entirely unlike what all of my great-grandmothers did when they came to Hawaii.

After transitioning to Seattle and UW, I created a great network of support which included my friends, classmates and lab-mates.  I helped to start the Society for Advancement of Chicanos / Hispanics and Native Americans in the Sciences (SACNAS) Student Chapter at UW.  The Chapter has become my science family with a long list of strong women and colleagues who have been my support system and inspiration throughout graduate school.  This list includes Amanda Bruner, Dr. Charla Lambert, Katrina Claw and Savannah Benally, dear friends that I would have not gotten to this point without.

My SACNAS Family

After seven hard years of graduate school, I finally earned my PhD in Molecular and Cellular Biology with a certificate in Molecular Medicine.  I learned so much about DNA repair, conducting research, experimental design, data analysis, scientific writing, working with human tissues, and communicating science and my work to others.  I worked on many projects throughout graduate school and completed my dissertation, “Involvement of DNA repair factors, WRN and MRE11, in the response to the chemotherapeutic agent, camptothecin” last August.  When I finished graduate school, my future career was very uncertain.  I didn’t know if I would be able to find a job or get training to be a Science Professor.  I didn’t have a postdoc or full-time job lined up when I submitted my dissertation, but I knew that I had gotten this far and I couldn’t let go of my dream to be a Professor who is successful at teaching biology as well as guiding students to pursue their passions.

University of Washington Class of 2011

During the months leading up to my completion, I sent my CV out to community colleges and small colleges throughout Washington in addition to applying for jobs in Washington and California.  I ended up interviewing and received adjunct faculty positions to teach Biology at North Seattle and Seattle Central Community Colleges in the Fall quarter.  I was ecstatic!  Even though I did not have a true full-time position, I had positions to teach two courses (General Biology with labs) at the community college level and also a weekly lab section at the University of Washington Bothell (UWB), which in a way, seemed like a full-time job cumulatively.  This quarter I am teaching two courses with labs (General Biology and Anatomy and Physiology) at North Seattle Community College (NSCC) in addition to the part-time position at UWB.

Teaching is great.  I absolutely love it!  I enjoy teaching science and about the biological processes that make us humans.  I love seeing that moment when the lightbulbs go on in my students’ heads about science and being able to interact with students, showing them that it possible to pursue your passion no matter how daunting or difficult.  It has been a learning experience which requires transitioning (but that will have to be the topic another blog!). But, I know this is a learning curve well worth it as this is the start of my path to being a Professor and making a difference in my student’s lives, which I know will not be realized without hard work and perseverance.

It is from my family lineage, my upbringing and life experiences that I am passionate about student development, and diversity and inclusion in higher education and the STEM fields.  Just as a protein’s properties are influenced by the genetic code, so are my characteristics and passions influenced by my genetic code: traits of bravery, pioneerism, strength, hard work, dedication and perseverance that must have been passed down through my X chromosomes.

Amber Caracol currently teaches at UW Bothell and North Seattle Community College. She earned her PhD from the University of Washington in 2011 in Molecular and Cellular Biology and is a past president and founder of the UW SACNAS chapter. 

My maternal side of the family back home in Hawaii.

Guest Blog: Transitioning from graduate student to faculty

“Cyber-SACNAS” caught up with Assistant Professor Tracie Delgado, a former  UW SACNista, to ask a few questions about entering the  professoriate. If you’re  interested in becoming a professor one day, Dr. Delgado provides some very good advice for you!

1) What did you do during your graduate career to prepare yourself to become a faculty member (publications, research, etc)?

During graduate school I made sure to make the most out of any opportunity I had. To start, I applied to various research fellowships throughout my graduate school career and was able to secure my own funding all five years of graduate school. I was not always awarded the first fellowship I applied for, but with constant dedication I was able to receive five different research fellowships while in graduate school including the GO-MAP fellowship my first year of grad school, the ARCS fellowship my 1st-3rd year of graduate school, the Viral Oncology Training Grant my second year of graduate school, the Cellular and Molecular Biology Training Grant my third through fifth year and the Microbiology Helen Whitely fellowship my last few months of graduate school. That did not include receiving honorable mention for the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Ford foundation fellowship. Other than applying for fellowships and learning how to secure my own funding for my research, I also published a paper my fourth year of graduate school, under the guidance of my mentor Dr. Michael Lagunoff, titled “Induction of the Warburg effect by Kaposi’s sarcoma herpesvirus is required for the maintenance of latently infected endothelial cells” in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences (PNAS) journal. I currently have another first author paper in review for publication titled “Global Metabolic Profiling of Infection by an Oncogenic Virus: KSHV Induces and Requires Lipogenesis for Survival of Latent Infection.” I also made sure to attend and present my data at scientific conferences which included the “International Workshop on KSHV & Related Agents”, “International Herpesvirus Workshop” and SACNAS National Conferences. By presenting in conferences I was able to meet other scientist in my field as well as scientist from similar backgrounds which help increase my connections with the scientific community. Other than research, I was proactive in the area of teaching and science outreach. Specifically for teaching, while in graduate school, I taught two Microbiology lab courses at the University of Washington as well as taught a Microbiology course (lecture and lab) at North Seattle Community College. I also applied and received the Huckabay Teaching Fellowship from the University of Washington where I was able to create and teach a course titled “The Biology of Sexually Transmitted Diseases” at Seattle Central Community College. All these experiences together prepared me for an academic career because I learned to write grants, do research, publish papers, present my data and create and teach college level courses.

2) How did you navigate the tough academic job market?

My main advice for anyone trying to find an academic job is to network as much as possible. During graduate school I contacted and met with various deans of science programs at liberal arts colleges and community colleges in the greater seattle area. The main purpose of my meetings was to let them know who I was, what my academic plans were after graduate school and for them to keep me in mind if any faculty positions arose in the future. Through my networking earlier in graduate school I was invited back to interview to teach a summer Microbiology course at North Seattle Community College. The interview went well and I was hired to teach this course, which allowed me to gain experience teaching a course all by myself. During my networking, I also met Dr. Wendy Rockhill who is the science Dean at Seattle Central Community College (SCCC). Dr. Rockhill mentored me and was my faculty sponsor when I applied for the Huckabay teaching fellowship. When I received the Huckabay teaching fellowship, she allowed me to teach my course at the SCCC campus. This gave me the experience of creating a course from scratch and teaching it. With all this said, by the time graduation was closing in I met with the Dean of Arts and Sciences and Science Faculty Chairman at Northwest University and demonstrated my desire for becoming a faculty member at this institution. At the time there was no openings available, but a few months went by and a position for a tenure track Assistant Professor in Biology position opening up and they called me for an official interview. I was given the job and that has led me to where I am today. Without the power of networking, I don’t think I would have progressed to the point I am today.

3) What are the challenges of being a new faculty member?

Since Northwest University is a liberal arts college whose primary focus is excellent teaching, the biggest challenge has been preparing and teaching courses I have never taught before, all at one time. I strive for excellence for myself and for my students, so I work hard to give my students the best education and learning environment. Another challenge is transitioning from student to faculty member. As a student I had many mentors around campus to help and encourage me in my graduate school career. Now as a faculty member I need to be proactive and seek out new mentors at both my institution and elsewhere. A third challenge is to make sure to have “me” time. It is easy to get caught up in faculty life, so it is necessary to take a breath every so often and spend time with family and friends or just personal alone time to relax.

4) What are the advantages of being a faculty member over a graduate student?

I think one of the biggest advantages is being done with school and now being apart of mentoring the next generation of students. It is very special and rewarding know that students look up to me and I am teaching them skills that are essential for their future careers. Another advantage is not taking exams or attending lectures necessary to finish a degree. Now I can immerse myself and learn things that I find interesting, which allows me to continue to grow in knowledge as a faculty member and an educator.

5) What advice do you have for students who are looking to become faculty members?

I would say the best piece of advice is to work hard, network, make the best out of any opportunity and strive for excellence.

Tracie Delgado is an Assistant Professor at Northwest University in Kirkland, Washington. She graduated from the University of Washington with her PhD in Microbiology in 2011 and is a past president of the UW SACNAS chapter. Dr. Delgado’s CV is located below. 

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