ReachOut TeachOut at UCI
I had the privilege of serving as the co-president of ReachOut TeachOut at UCI (ROTO), a graduate student-led club that demystifies STEM careers while promoting diversity, equity, and inclusion. I helped graduate students plan and design engaging activities for high school students from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. Before the pandemic, we had in-person event days where students performed hands-on lab activities. During the pandemic, we hosted coding workshops, released educational content on our YouTube channel, held virtual science jeopardy nights, and implemented a science fair mentoring program. After our events, we often hosted a panel where high school students could ask our volunteers for advice, learn about their path to higher education, and discover potential professional opportunities. Within the past few years, many ROTO high school alumni were accepted into schools from the Ivy League, University of California system, and California State Universities. ROTO was named the most collaborative organization on the campus for two consecutive years. We collaborated with Westminster High and offered our program to schools in San Bernardino.
Student Mentor
I have been fortunate to mentor students across a myriad of educational stages: high school, undergraduate, and graduate. I mentored two high school students with their science fair projects. In their award-winning project, they measured leaf litter decomposition activities at different distances from the freeway. At UCI, I served as a mentor for five undergraduate students in my research lab. I helped them break down year and quarter-long projects into more manageable weekly learning goals and activities. By the end of each quarter, the students made substantial progress on their projects. Three students won the Excellence in Research Award and presented their research at the year-end UCI Undergraduate Symposium. As a postdoc, I provide my graduate student lab mates feedback on their materials and presentations, as well as offer advice on navigating graduate school. Additionally, through near-peer mentorship, a graduate student and I are closely collaborating together on multiple projects.
Letters to a Pre-scientist
For three years, I was a pen-pal for Letters to a Pre-scientist, a collaborative pen pal program connecting low-income, underrepresented middle school students to scientists. My pen pals were elementary and middle school students. Throughout the program, we exchanged letters by mail, where I shared my experiences as well as described the different opportunities in STEM and higher education that aligned with their interests.