Page 16 - CEMS News Winter 2021

STUDENT NEWS
Student organizations get creative to continue outreach and activities
Despite obvious challenges of staying connected in a virtual format, student groups continue engaging in programmatic activities during fall semester 2020.
Group leaders from a few student organizations serving College of Science and Engineering graduate students share their updates from fall semester below.
CEMS Women’s Group:
Kathleen Lauser, CEMS, Coordinator; Ela Engen, CEMS, Coordinator
Established in 2013, the CEMS Women’s Group works to foster and support the women in the department on their path to becoming scientists and career women, as well
as to increase communication among female-identifying students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) fields and with women currently working in industry, academia, government agencies, and national labs.
“The CEMS Women’s group has hosted a number of virtual activities during the fall semester. The group watched a virtual screening of the film “Picture a Scientist,” followed by a discussion about the challenges and overcoming biases for women in STEM. During the first-year graduate student orientation week, we had virtual lunch together through Zoom to introduce CEMS Women’s Group and get to know the new graduate students. Dr. Laurie Fink, Chair of the Science Museum of Minnesota, hosted a virtual “lunch and learn” to discuss her career path and the Science Museum’s mission. Additionally, the mentoring program paired 18 industrial alumni to current graduate students, and these pairs have been meeting virtually throughout the semester to discuss resumes, interview techniques, and other advice to prepare students for jobs after graduation.”
Women’s Group: https://women-grads.cems.umn.edu Twitter: @CEMSWomen
Joint Safety Team (JST):
Taysir Bader, Chemistry, Co-President; Celina Harris, Chemistry, Co-President
The JST began from a partnership focused on safety between Dow Chemical Company and the Departments
A CEMS Women’s Group networking event from Fall 2019. Although in-person events aren’t permitted currently, the Women’s Group continues to “meet” virtually and offer a robust mentoring program, connecting mentors to students virtually.
of Chemistry and CEMS at the University of Minnesota in April 2012. Through this partnership, the JST is able to learn and adapt the best practices from industry in order to improve the culture of safety in academia.
“When the pandemic fell upon us, the JST had to accommodate many changes with regard to our standard operations. Throughout the summer and fall semester, the JST has transitioned all our regularly scheduled educational events into a virtual format.
The Education and Resources Committee has worked tirelessly to create a series of hazard-specific panels and COVID safety panels. These events have been open to all members in both departments and have had great student participation.
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