This summer, I’ve had a lot of fun actually going to the various WAGSFP programming!
I was a little nervous going in for orientation, just wondering if I’d meet a decent group of people. Everyone I’ve met is more than just decent though, wonderful/smart/inspirational are better-fitting descriptors. As for orientation programming itself, it was pretty good. The beginning was confusing for me, however, as everyone from all the summer fellowships was there and I didn’t know who was who or where I should go to take the pictures. For upcoming years, I’d suggest having clearly designated areas for each summer fellowship where people could wait for what to do next. Also maybe having one more photographer to make the picture-taking process move faster?
To be quite honest, I was dreading going through another round of the same seminars we had during UROP in the regular school year. However, I’ve been pleasantly surprised with how engaging seminars can be. Even the seminars that were similar to the ones I’ve had before have been great because of the other fellows! Everyone is involved and thoughtful, and I learn a lot from my peers every time we are together. I’ve especially enjoyed the journal club seminar because it exposed me to a variety of topics that I would not have otherwise known about. For future years, I think it would be interesting if fellows got to choose the topic of some of the seminars.
I like brown bags for the same reason I enjoyed journal club; it’s very informative to expose yourself to topics outside of your field and your interests. Oftentimes, I get so caught up in studying what I am already interested in that I grow bored of academia. Going to events like brown bags helps to keep research/academics stimulating and even exciting. I think it would be nice to have some built-in brown bags for the fellowship where all the WAGSFP fellows attend at the same time and the topic is centered around something in women/gender studies. This year, I found biological sciences to be more represented than humanities, and while learning about the hard sciences is rewarding in its own way, I think it would especially beneficial to feature more humanities research because it is undervalued and misunderstood.
As I said before, the other fellows and mentors have been amazing. Its been so exciting meeting people from all over the country and to hear their unique experiences. I’m happy that everyone has been so welcoming and kind. We are all willing to help each other out in whatever way possible, from research questions to food recommendations. As for mentors. Elizabeth and Michelle are also terrific. Elizabeth has been so helpful and accommodating! She is also just a fun person to be around and I really appreciate that. I will miss her :((((((( As for Michelle, I’ve appreciated how even though she just came back, she has been so interested in the fellows as people and wants to be there for us even though she’s likely super busy! Overall, I’ve had a great time in this program and am grateful for all of the people I’ve met and experiences I’ve had.