science Communication
Communicating science to the general public is an important task for scientists and one which I greatly enjoy. Thus, I welcome opportunities to share my enthusiasm for biology with others be it through written pieces or oral presentations. As a graduate student, I wrote a guest column for a retirement home newsletter and gave community outreach presentations on garter snakes and parasites. I have written a guest contribution for the popular science blog 'Parasite of the Day' (http://dailyparasite.blogspot.com/2016/10/alaria-spp.html), and I was a regular columnist for the Siuslaw News, a newspaper based in Florence, Oregon, for four years.
mentoring
For students interested in science and, in particular, research, having a mentor is a very valuable experience. I was fortunate, while completing my Bachelor's degree, to have an excellent mentor who helped introduce me to research beyond the confines of the courses I was taking. As a graduate student, I sought out opportunities to develop my own skills in mentoring and worked with over a dozen undergraduate students interested in obtaining lab experience. Several of these individuals went on to pursue graduate studies themselves. I continued mentoring students during my time as a postdoc and, most recently, I served as a mentor for the Society for the Study of Evolution's "Day at Evolution" program, which helps community college students navigate their first experience attending a science conference.
Juvenile ringneck snake at E.E. Wilson Wildlife Refuge (Oregon). Photo credit: M.K. Squire.
other Outreach activities
In addition to one on one mentoring, I was involved in several outreach programs at Oregon State University and was the chair of the Graduate Student Outreach Committee for 2013-2014. I have led activities based on evolution, ecology, and/or parasitology for the following events:
Winter Wonderings: program for gifted middle school students organized by OSU's Office of Precollege Programs.
Ecology and Evolution Workshop: organized by OSU's STEPs (Scientists and Teachers in Education Partnerships) program to foster interest in the life sciences via short learning activities for high school students.
Darwin's Legacy Workshop: evolution-based workshop for high school students organized by OSU's STEPs program; students participated in short learning activities throughout the day followed by attendance at a lecture given by Drs. Peter and Rosemary Grant visiting from Princeton University.
Winter Wonderings: program for gifted middle school students organized by OSU's Office of Precollege Programs.
Ecology and Evolution Workshop: organized by OSU's STEPs (Scientists and Teachers in Education Partnerships) program to foster interest in the life sciences via short learning activities for high school students.
Darwin's Legacy Workshop: evolution-based workshop for high school students organized by OSU's STEPs program; students participated in short learning activities throughout the day followed by attendance at a lecture given by Drs. Peter and Rosemary Grant visiting from Princeton University.
