On a whim, I decided to register and attend STEMNoire’s Wellness Wednesday a couple weeks ago and I had such an affirming experience I had to share. The first hour or so, the discussion topic was Life After the
Postdoc. You can see why I decided to tune in! After that discussion, we stayed on longer for more informal discussion. After I introduced myself, someone said “Wait; are you from Ag in Color?” Y’all I’m so glad my camera was off because I leaned in…like face to computer screen to see who was talking lol and was like “Yessss but why do you know me?” Apparently someone in her lab felt that I was someone to watch/follow. Who knew!
That moment reminded me of two things:
- You never know who is watching. People may be uplifting your name in rooms and you have no idea. You know nothing of these rooms. You may inspire and/or affirm folks from all over; folks you know and some you may not. Which is why…
- I gotta keep this thang going mayne! This is something I hold dear and to know that even one person (shout out to Ariel over at the Food Truck Scholar Podcast and her concept of “The One”) finds value in what I’m doing keeps me lifted.
If you ever see me out or on Zoom, which is more likely, drop a line! Let me know you’re following the account or listen to the podcast.
Another affirming moment and a note for you all, I am beta testing a workshop for early-stage (1st and 2nd year) graduate students to help them narrow down a dissertation topic. So far, I’ve tested the workshop with two students – both Black women finishing their first year in a doc program. Both students found the workshop “extremely helpful” and have given some helpful feedback. If you are interested in this workshop, please send me an email to agincolor.contact@gmail.com. If you know someone who may need this workshop, please share this with them. This is Free.99.
In Solidarity