S-STEM/TRAIN Scholar Kimberly Merrill's Blog

Before Dr. Renee Bhatti-Klug spoke with us, I had some understanding of cultural intelligence. I knew it was important to be inclusive and accept the perspectives and traditions of other cultures. However, in her talk, she provided us with guidance to get a deeper understanding of why cultural intelligence and cultural responsiveness is important. She also taught us how to incoporate that into future projects and workplaces. There are three components to cultural intelligence: cultural openness, cultural awareness, and cultural responsiveness. Openness requires the curiosity value. Awareness requires empathy. Responsiveness requires compassion, a very important leadership quality. Eventually, the goal is implement a plan for appropriate behavior that leads to cultural opportunities. The outcome if this is accomplished is a workplace or environment where people of all cultures feel included and equal. There is also diversity present with many views and opinions at the table that are res...

Dakota Webber from ASU's career services discussed the importance of building your professional identity and then marketing it. There are multiple platforms you can do this through, such as LinkedIn or Handshake. These are great mediums to grow your reputation and spread it to employers and peers in your community or field.  One key component in building your professional identity is finding key words or a specific niche that makes you unique. For example, instead of listing yourself as a "computer science major" you could instead market your self as a "computing major interested and/or experienced in sql queries."  Another feature of a professional identity is your communication and outreach efforts. People will remember if you reach out to them with questions or showing interest in a career, research, or program. Also, if you connect with groups, people, and other professionals through the career platforms, at career fairs, or just in passing it will leave an ...

 Oops! I didn't take any pictures.  I talked to two transfer students that I didn't already know. Their major anxieties were similar to mine when I was in their position. Some of the degrees are very broad and have different track focuses. It can be intimidating trying to chose which focus you want and what degree to commit to. No one told me until I was two semesters in at ASU, that you can mix track focus electives and don't actually have to pick a track. I take most of my classes from the conservation biology track in environmental science, but have included electives from other tracks like science communications, ecosystem/global change, and business/leadership. There are some benefits to mixing electives. It gives you an idea of areas you like or don't like. It also diversifies you from other students in your major. Many agencies and employers want well-rounded employess that have leadership knowledege and commmunication skills, so it doesn't hurt to have those...

 I am excited and annoyed about Fall 2023.  It will be my final semester before graduation, but I was led to believe Spring 2023 would be my final semester. It turns out a few of the classes I took at community college didn't transfer and give me credit at ASU. So, I have to take an extra semester to take geology, an upper division c/g, and an upper division ethics.  Although it seemed like a setback initially, I am a little relieved to have one more semester to figure out the post-graduation plan. After much deliberation, I think I've finally decided that I really want a masters degree. However, it is turning into a more complicated process than I originally anticpated. First, I need to figure out where I want to get the degree, what I want to research, and who I want to work under (how the heck do I do that?!). Then, I need to figure out the logistics like finances and if it is even an attainable option. I have a daughter, so I have to be able to not only afford tuition...

    Throughout my undergraduate education and research, using spreedsheets has become like putting on pants. It provides many useful recording and analytical tools to manage. However, this semester I was introduced to relational databases, which seemed like pants that were much more difficult to get on. At first, I was really confused about everything from the terminlogy to the navigation. After working through the assignments and projects, I feel a lot more confident in understanding relational databases. I've found that they remove a lot of redundancy in data, and I particularly like tables that break it down in to smaller parts. Relational databases also are nice if you're sharing access with others and if it needs to be modified by others. Spreedsheets have more repeitition and aren't great for combining related data as concisely.      In class, we had to explore databases and apply our knowledge in a database project. The first project was to take a csv of ...

This course has enlightened me about the many ways I haven't been taking care of my mental or physical health. I was probably already aware of these deficits, but didn't view them as a pressing issue. School seems like such a temporary effort that matters of sleep, anxiety, and self-care become perceived as "part of the journey."  Stress, scheduling life, needing more time, and developing a healthy sleep schedule don't resolve when you graduate, although. Thus, I felt that I should endeavor to create positive habitats and thinkng now, that I can carry into my STEM career with the exception of sleep.  I have decent time management, but I simply don't have enough hours between school, work, and parenting to sleep 8 hours every night. Therefore, sleep in the one thing that maybe when I don't have a job AND school there may be a little more time for. I am aware of the implications it is having on my health, but I just need to tough through a couple more semest...