Skills I Built in Graduate School for Academia
April 21st, 2025 by Ana Guadalupe Rodriguez
The path that has led me to academia has been an immersive opportunity boundless with growth, and advancement in my professional skills, accompanied by a deeper understanding of the assets I offer with my positionality as a young female Latina scientist. Each experience in my undergraduate and graduate career better prepared me for the challenges and opportunities that awaited me in academia while shedding light on existing gaps in my skills and the space for continued development. Throughout my academic and professional life as an undergraduate and graduate student, I focused on developing my skill set in the mechanical and conceptual learning of laboratory techniques, research, and community projects. This opened the doors for several opportunities to work as a chemist and environmental scientist. Then again, if I had to do it all over again, I would keep the experiences that helped me build the valuable skills that led me to academia. However, I would prioritize learning public speaking techniques and developing a deeper level of writing.
As I have ventured into my journey of almost six years of academia, I have addressed each term intentionally, understanding that my skills and pedagogy are far from perfect and purposefully embracing the opportunity for change. This intentionality and deep inflection I often practice have led me to acknowledge the gaps within my public speaking style. Truthfully, public speaking is not of comfort for my more so introverted persona. However, my passion for science oversees this fear or hesitation, allowing me to stand in front of my student community and engage with their inquisitive minds. Over the past six years, my public speaking style has grown tremendously, fueled by my passion for natural sciences and education. Though, focusing on taking extra speech courses or allowing myself to be more open to this resource may have made the journey of public speaking in a classroom smoother. Aspects such as how body language may influence student engagement, how tonality can evoke positive or negative experiences, or even the pace of speaking are skill sets of communication and public speaking that, over the years, I have learned to more deeply appreciate and improve on. A significant part of gaining these skills has been my doctoral journey intermixed with my academic life, as completing my dissertation provided space for reflection and self-development.
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Aside from public speaking, I also would have chosen to highlight my writing skills more. As a native Spanish speaker, writing in English has presented various barriers, especially transitioning into a language with fewer words to express myself. Nevertheless, writing has become vital to my role as a faculty member, communicating with the college community and assisting students in their writing. Moreover, as a Louis Stokes Alliances for Minority Participation (LSAMP) mentor, it has been key to guiding students in understanding the importance of communicating their thoughts and research findings concisely and with transparency. Writing is a form of art; like art, it is a unique opportunity to express a part of yourself. While I have welcomed my imperfection in writing as a native Spanish speaker, I continue to grow, embracing the open canvas that writing presents and learning to express myself better as I build connections within research and education. Taking additional time and opportunities to enhance my writing skills in undergraduate and graduate school would have, much like public speaking, permitted a smoother transition into the multiplicity of academia.
In contemplating the skills that, if I had to do it all over again, I would consider, I would also have sought to participate in student-led community projects, clubs, organizations, and research programs. Participating in extracurricular activities that would invite my introverted nature to become more outspoken and daring would have better prepared me for the vulnerability that encompasses, mentally and spiritually, teaching in academia. Over the years, the skills that I learned in past extracurricular involvement have been a powerful addition to my pedagogy and interpersonal relationships with students; however, as with most skills, the room for improvement is vast and generous, and therefore, more exposed experiences within my graduate years, may have positioned me to have more pedagogical tools. Reflecting on past opportunities for growth provides a renewed gratitude for experiences that shaped me into the science instructor I am today within academia. Moreover, reflecting on past experiences brings a more profound sense of humility, recognizing the fertile spaces for growth as a person, instructor, and mentor in academia.
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