On, February 5th Brittnie and Jose traveled to Des Moines, IA to present two posters. Brittnie presented the BETA poster and Jose presented a poster over his other research project at the 2015-16 LSAMP IINSPIRE Annual Conference: Embracing the Whole Student Towards Success in STEM. This conference is held each year featuring a variety of sessions including the poster session at which the poster was presented. Brittnie also had the opportunity to speak on student panels.
My favorite part was how people asked me a lot of questions about research and managing time, when I was talking on the student panel. A lot of students asked for my email and phone number, so that they could keep in touch with me and ask more questions. I felt famous! -Brittnie
The conference also included motivational talks, workshops, and networking opportunities. However, Jose thoroughly enjoyed the poster session.
The coolest thing was seeing people being interested on what I have been researching.
-Jose
This conference is specifically geared towards underrepresented minorities in STEM fields and provided a real unique experience for the students.
I went to this specific conference because it’s geared for minority students who are in STEM and provide a lot of networking opportunities to connect with other STEM minority students, faculty and staff. Also, the conference highlights how there’s not a lot of support for minority students in the STEM fields, the adversity that minority and first generation STEM students face, and how we can better support STEM students, faculty and staff of color. -Brittnie
The conference itself was an amazing experience and Brittnie really put it best:
I wouldn’t do anything differently. I really enjoyed my time at the conference. -Brittnie