Building community among students
Building community among the different student groups at SAFS and Marine Biology—undergraduates, graduates and postdocs—the SAFS Undergrad Community Building Event was held was held for the fourth year running.
Taking place on 13 May, undergraduates were invited to walk around and speak to grads and postdocs about different topics including grad school, what life looks like after graduation, and finding your way in science.
Organized through the SAFS DEI Committee, the event was inspired by the graduate student peer mentoring program and the desire to build a community within SAFS that includes undergrads.
Graduate student, Taylor Triviño, who helped to organize the event, shared her thoughts:
“This is my second year helping to organize the event and I find it very rewarding connecting our undergraduate students and graduate students in the department. I overheard great conversations about life after graduation, what grad school looks like, and stories about finding your path in science. Academia can be a tricky place to navigate especially as a first-generation student, so being able to share my experience can reveal some of the hidden curriculum that no one tells you about but expects you to know. The graduate students in SAFS come from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and disciplines where we each can speak about how we got to Seattle and how different each of our paths have been. I’m hoping to continue to organize this event each spring to strengthen our community, uplift the undergraduates, and share how amazing the work we do here at SAFS is.” – Taylor Triviño