My career purpose is to learn about and reveal beliefs that are widely-held as an implicit result of our socialization within systems of oppression so that I can embolden others to reflect on their assumptions and advance equity in their own ways.
I am motivated by a deep and consistent desire to recognize and combat oppression in the lives I touch. Since long before I learned to use words like “systems of oppression,” “privilege,” or “social justice,” I was always trying to figure out how I could resist or disrupt the inequities I observed in the lives of those around me. I know that equity requires systemic change, and I am someone who feels fulfilled when I can directly support the people in my life. Therefore, I am committed to maintaining a diverse and inclusive research group, and I strive to learn about students as whole people. My desire to combat oppression also manifests in my ways of encouraging students. For example, I tend to go into “pep talk” mode…I see students’ unique brilliance and want to support while they navigate inequitable systems. It means the world to me when I am able to earn students’ trust because when they share their authentic experiences with me, I get better at recognizing systemic inequities and learning to leverage my privilege to support others.
I have a fundamental need to understand the context and reasons behind everything. That’s why I am constantly asking “why”? Why do so many people wonder if they are “smart” enough for engineering? Why is our society so inequitable? Why is writing so hard?! My deep curiosity about how things work and why things happen as they do is the reason I studied engineering and the reason I am now a researcher. As an advisor of doctoral students, I expect students to think deeply and thoroughly about their ideas, which takes time and effort but results in high quality research. I am not someone who can just “go through the motions.” My default of always establishing a rationale for what we do in our research adds value to student development and leads to robust research designs.
In terms of work style, I take a slow and steady approach to pursuing my goals. I believe that it is critical to figure out how to make consistent, measurable progress because our best achievements are the result of regular and sustained attention and effort. Great ideas require development, feedback, and iteration, which takes time. Plus, being rushed triggers my anxiety. Nothing makes me cringe more than when someone admits they submitted a paper or proposal that they waited to write until the night before it was due, eek! So, I do things like asking all of the graduate students that I advise to track their daily writing time. I believe we can thrive when our projects have realistic and clear plans for sustained progress. While my spreadsheets are not everyone’s favorite, I do it because I firmly believe that progress is made when we show up, try our best, and reflect every single day. My bit-by-bit way of working supports productivity while building in a cushion for when “life happens” and we must persevere in the face of adversity.
One final thing you should know if you are interested in working closely with me is that I am constantly trying to optimize the systems and processes that define my days. Like I’m THAT person who believes that she knows the one TRULY CORRECT way to load the dishwasher…haha! Joking aside, I always try to front-load efficiency into my life because I believe it frees up our precious time and attention to think deeply about big ideas and generate transformative contributions. My consistent desire to make things run smoothly and easily shows up in the highly-organized systems that I implement wherever possible. At the same time, I recognize that some of the most important pathways to achieving my goal of spurring equitable change (e.g., trust, love, community) develop organically and over time, which means I treasure students and collaborators who can remind me to abandon my well-laid plans for efficiency when necessary.
I have a fundamental need to understand the context and reasons behind everything. That’s why I am constantly asking “why”? Why do so many people wonder if they are “smart” enough for engineering? Why is our society so inequitable? Why is writing so hard?! My deep curiosity about how things work and why things happen as they do is the reason I studied engineering and the reason I am now a researcher. As an advisor of doctoral students, I expect students to think deeply and thoroughly about their ideas, which takes time and effort but results in high quality research. I am not someone who can just “go through the motions.” My default of always establishing a rationale for what we do in our research adds value to student development and leads to robust research designs.
In terms of work style, I take a slow and steady approach to pursuing my goals. I believe that it is critical to figure out how to make consistent, measurable progress because our best achievements are the result of regular and sustained attention and effort. Great ideas require development, feedback, and iteration, which takes time. Plus, being rushed triggers my anxiety. Nothing makes me cringe more than when someone admits they submitted a paper or proposal that they waited to write until the night before it was due, eek! So, I do things like asking all of the graduate students that I advise to track their daily writing time. I believe we can thrive when our projects have realistic and clear plans for sustained progress. While my spreadsheets are not everyone’s favorite, I do it because I firmly believe that progress is made when we show up, try our best, and reflect every single day. My bit-by-bit way of working supports productivity while building in a cushion for when “life happens” and we must persevere in the face of adversity.
One final thing you should know if you are interested in working closely with me is that I am constantly trying to optimize the systems and processes that define my days. Like I’m THAT person who believes that she knows the one TRULY CORRECT way to load the dishwasher…haha! Joking aside, I always try to front-load efficiency into my life because I believe it frees up our precious time and attention to think deeply about big ideas and generate transformative contributions. My consistent desire to make things run smoothly and easily shows up in the highly-organized systems that I implement wherever possible. At the same time, I recognize that some of the most important pathways to achieving my goal of spurring equitable change (e.g., trust, love, community) develop organically and over time, which means I treasure students and collaborators who can remind me to abandon my well-laid plans for efficiency when necessary.
