Wisconsin Institute for Science Education and Community Engagement
"The thing that excites me most about community engagement is the ability to contribute to bringing research from academic journals into the community to work towards defined goals and positive change."
"I am always excited about the training of future science educators! It makes me optimistic about the future of biology education knowing there are folks who want to learn about effective teaching."
"How are we going to make science more accessible? We're going to do that by changing the environment and culture, and by mentoring the whole trainee so that people can see themselves in this space and stay in the space."
"My favorite part [of the Fellows program] was the community and working toward something together. We learned together, developed learning materials together, and ultimately, taught a real undergraduate course together."
"Science is better when we have diverse perspectives, so I hope we can engage the next generation of scientists through a welcoming classroom and thoughtful course design."
"I have always been passionate about both basic scientific research and increasing access to STEM education, and I believe this program will help me further integrate those passions as I continue into new roles post graduation."
"Considering how academic research can serve communities can be challenging, but learning and doing so with a group of peers was incredibly rewarding."
"The best part about teaching is seeing an initially apathetic student get genuinely excited and articulate about the course material."
"I have always found teaching and mentorship to be incredibly fulfilling—I want to spend my time and effort helping others to satisfy their curiosities and achieve their goals."
"The entirety of my PhD has centered on community-engaged engineering, so I frequently call on the methods, theories, etc. I learned in the program to engage most effectively with my community partners."