After two years of being inspired and captivated over Zoom, students, alumni and company partners enthusiastically gathered in real life for the 6th Annual Knight Campus Graduate Internship Program Inclusion Symposium on August 26th.
Hosted in the gleaming new Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact (and new home for the KCGIP), the excitement of gathering in person was palpable. The Symposium included opening remarks, a panel of industry leaders and alumni, student speakers and a keynote that left attendees alternating between laughter and tears over the course of a warm summer afternoon. The session moved outside to the second-floor terrace, overlooking the trees of the UO’s Urban Farm as attendees continued conversations over drinks and appetizers as the sun sank and the stars came into view.
The Inclusion Symposium is the capstone event of the summer inclusion workshop series, which includes invited speakers and topics focused on empowering students with the foundational knowledge, empathy, and emotional intelligence necessary to become inclusive leaders and allies as they prepare to begin their careers.
Betsy Tanenbaum, Sr. Manager of Alumni & Corporate Engagement, facilitates the workshops and the Symposium; she captured the mood this way: “The virtual symposia held during the pandemic were special because we all needed that human connection in a challenging time, but being back in person reminded me just how powerful it can be to have everyone together in one room to share stories and learn from one another.”
Tony Baylis, Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Lawrence Livermore National Lab, opened the symposium with welcoming remarks focused on the importance inclusive leadership and the relationships we build.
Speeches by students Anna Miller and Alex Kha were emotional, vulnerable and powerful. Their willingness to keep it real opened the door for everything that followed. “Because their speeches were at the beginning of the event, I think it truly encouraged vulnerability from the rest of the guest speakers and participants,” said Tanenbaum.
Kha could feel that, too. “I had a number of people, including peers from other tracks who I have not spoken to before, come up to me to ask if I had time to listen to their stories, or talk about some of the issues we touched on...I didn't realize how such a simple act like giving a five-minute speech could help empower others and break the ice in these discussions,” she said.
This was the first year industry partners were invited to participate and witness the work the Graduate Internship Program has done in DEI in a real and tangible way. For Damon Heer, Senior Director of Research and Development at Thermo Fisher Scientific, the event provided an opportunity for reflection. “For people like me who typically identify themselves as non-diverse, mainstream, or whatever terminology we choose, it can be difficult to fully internalize and empathize with our diverse colleagues. Directly hearing their stories is powerful, creating a connection not possible from training, books, blogs, etc…KCGIP has somehow balanced instruction in technical expertise and the human side that is often overlooked or underrated.”
Dr. Stacey York, Director of KCGIP Materials Tracks, was heartened by the response from partners. “While our corporate partners have heard about the symposium for years, there is a difference when you are able to feel the impact. The partners who attended the symposium left with a much stronger understanding of how DEI work can shape and shift the workplace environment.”
The Leadership Panel included six scientists from a wide swath of industry and national labs who provided insights on how to navigate difficult conversations and situations with grace – and how to be an ally to others. The panel was expertly moderated by Dr. Askim Senyurt, a polymer scientist whose career has spanned a variety of roles – including a summer as an instructor in the KCGIP polymer track in 2019.
“What I loved about the panel was the consensus that you do not need to be in a traditional leadership position to make an impact on inclusion and diversity. We all have something to offer to the conversation and can lead with influence from any position within a company,” said Tanenbaum.
Panelist and alumna Samantha Ruelas reflected that “You never know what people are going through in their personal or professional life. If I can be one less pain point in someone’s day, I want to make life a little easier rather than cause more problems.”
Before we all stepped out onto the terrace to continue the conversation, keynote speaker Shay Miller captivated her audience by putting a spotlight on her own challenging journey to bring her authentic self to work–and the cost wanting to do that. Infused with humor and the raw struggle of that cost, her speech brought an energy to the event that kept people talking long into the evening. A gifted speaker and storyteller, Miller’s words kept attendees thinking about how they might bring their own authentic selves to work – and enable those they work with to do the same.
As Tony Baylis noted at the 2021 Symposium, the science might be tough, but some of the biggest challenges students face as they move through their careers will involve people. Learning how to navigate those relationships with empathy and understanding will allow them to be allies and agents of change. Which is what the Inclusion Symposium and the summer workshop series are all about.
Welcoming Remarks:
Betsy Tanenbaum, Sr. Mgr. for Alumni & Corporate Engagement–Knight Campus Graduate Internship Program
Opening Remarks:
Tony Baylis, Director, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion–Lawrence Livermore National Lab
Student Speeches:
Anna Miller & Alex Kha–2022 Semiconductor Track
KCGIP Inclusion Leadership Panel:
Moderator: Askim Senyurt, Ph.D., Senior Program Leader – Owens Corning.
Panel:
Rose Marie Haynes, Cryo-EM Microscopist & Biochemist – Pacific NW National Lab
Shoji Hishida, Photolithography Process Engineer – Keysight Technologies
Shula Jaron, Ph.D., Head of New Product – Poppy Health
Thomas McCaleb, Director, Talent Acquisition – II-IV Incorporated
RK Narayanan, Ph.D., Senior Director, Business Development and Technology Transfer – Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL)
Samantha Ruelas, Materials Scientist – Lawrence Livermore National Lab
Keynote:
Shay Miller, Director, Global Talent Acquisition – Lattice Semiconductor