I’m deeply passionate about STEM Outreach, and my journey began in Idaho while I was studying mathematics and physics. During my time in graduate school, I had the honor of serving as the president of the Association for Women in Science Notre Dame Chapter.
Currently, I am an active member of the American Statistical Association, where I hold the position of chair for the Government Statistics Section. Additionally, I am chair-elect for the Section on Statistical Computing and serve as a member of the Committee on Privacy and Confidentiality.
Although my involvement in STEM Outreach events has reduced compared to earlier in my career, I remain committed to volunteering and making contributions whenever possible. For instance, I am always open to conducting informational interviews with students who reach out for guidance.
Below, I’ve provided a snapshot of some of the STEM outreach and professional community activities I’ve been involved in, though this is just a portion of my extensive engagement in these areas.
For a fill list, please see my CV.
High School Chats
I give a short talk and answer questions about careers in statistics and working in public policy research for a high school in the Seattle, WA area.
DataFest
March 2021, 2022, and 2023
The American Statistical Association (ASA) DataFest is a celebration of data in which teams of undergraduates work around the clock to find and share meaning in a large, rich, and complex data set
I volunteer as a judge for the competition held for University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, Bridgewater State University, Bryant University, and Stonehill College.
StatFest 2020
Sept. 2020 and 2021
StatFest is a one-day conference aimed at encouraging undergraduate students from historically underrepresented groups to consider careers and graduate studies in the statistical sciences. I volunteered at one of the virtual roundtables to help students network in a virtual environment.
Skype a Scientist
March 2021 and June 2021
I spoke to K-12 kids about being a data privacy scientist via Skype a Scientist! One session, I led an interactive, virtual activity the East Brunswick Brownie Troop to earn their Cybersecurity I: Basics badge. As part of the activity, we drew us using technology and then we safely use it.
Virtual Guided Networking Session
Image of participants writing thank you to the volunteers.
July 2020
On behalf of the Committee on Career Development, I organized a guided networking session/workshop for the 2020 Joint Statistical Meetings. I Invited Dr. Emma Benn, Robert Santos, and Dr. Karen Price to be the guest speakers and coordinated over 40 volunteers from academia, industry, and government to help and advise.
Postdoc Virtual Office Hours
April 2020
CCD’s first round of virtual office hours were be held 12pm EDT Mon March 30th 2020 (video) and 1pm EDT Thurs Apr 2 (video), and were focused on Postdoc Positions. It featured statisticians that have held postdocs for a question and answer as well as professors that may have advice for future postdocs and/or offer positions at their institution.
- How does the interview process work?
- How do you find a mentor/coach/sponsor?
- How-to and where to find
- Pros and Con
- Benefits for setting academic research agenda
- Benefits for non-academic positions
Join us at future Virtual Office Hours.
Teaching Data to Kids
My chalkboard after the session was over.
May 2020
In this session, kids will learn how news reporters, scientists, and other people collect, analyze, and report data. We will collect our own data to visualize and analyze before discussing how we should report our findings. We will also learn how to question what we read in the news when it comes to data. Kids should be ready with paper and colored pencils or crayons to draw our data.
Adventures in Science
Feb. 2020
Didn’t get a good photo… 🙁
I volunteered to host a session for Adventures in Science, where the workshop was on telling the difference between regular and diet soda, leading into how to identify fake news and be more critical about what you read online.
JSM 2019 - Reaching Your Networking Peak
July 2019
On behalf of the Committee on Career Development, I organized a guided networking session/workshop for the 2019 Joint Statistical Meetings at Denver, CO. I invited Dean Sally Morton to be the main speaker and coordinated over 20 volunteers from academia industry, and government to help and advise participants on networking.
2019 Rising Stars in Computational and Data Sciences
April 2019
Rising Stars is an intensive workshop for women graduate students and postdocs who are interested in pursuing academic and research careers. Originally launched at MIT in 2012, Rising Stars events have been hosted in many different fields at institutions across the world. UT Austin’s Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences and Sandia National Laboratories are proud to partner to host the first Rising Stars event in Computational and Data Sciences.
Julia Robinson Math Festival
Raymond Greenwell (a retired math professor) and me.
March 2019
I volunteered at the local Julia Robinson Math Festival hosted by STEM Santa Fe. My table partner (a retired math professor) and I made hexaflexagons with the students!
Northern New Mexico Expanding Your Horizons
Mary Frances Dorn and me at the Northern New Mexico Expanding Your Horizons event.
Oct. 2018
Mary Frances and I made a workshop on telling the difference between regular and diet soda, leading into how to identify fake news and be more critical about what you read online.
2018 Grace Hopper Celebration - Mentoring Circles and More
Alma Castillo (my co-mentor for Mentoring Circles from Google London) and me, discussing how to successfully apply for scholarships and other opportunities with students.
Sept. 2018
Alma and I hosted a Mentoring Circles workshop at the 2018 Grace Hopper Celebration. We provided tips on common pitfalls, writing techniques, and more for young women in tech to be more successful in their applications for scholarships and other opportunities. I also judged posters for the poster competition
St. Joseph County Public Library's Science Alive
Members of the Association for Women in Science at the event.
Feb. 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018
Created fun science hands-on activities for K-12 students such as digging for dinosaur bones at the annual Science Alive Event at the St. Joseph Library, where over 3,000 children learn how science is fun.
Dog Park Press Conference
Photo of me with Mayor Pete Buttigieg (mayor of South Bend) and Aaron Perri (Director of Venues Parks & Arts in South Bend).
Oct. 2017
Previously, the closest official dog park is the Humane Society’s in Mishawaka and the Mishawaka Dog Park. For those who live in South Bend, taking dogs to those parks daily is not possible. I, along with others, have advocated for a dog park in South Bend.
University of Notre Dame Expanding Your Horizons
The photo was taken by the Expanding Your Horizons Organizers. I am on the left and Evercita Eugenio (my friend and academic sibling) is on the right.
April 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2017
In the first two years (2014, 2015), I provided insight on being a woman in science for the parents of middle school girls. For 2016 and 2017, I presented a data privacy workshop and probability hands-on science activities for middle school girls.
Notre Dame Pi Day 5K
March 2015, 2016, and 2017
I was one of the main organizer for the ND Pi Day 5K for two years (2015 and 2016). The race consisted of a 1 mile walk, 5K run, and 10K run as well as science demos and laboratory tours for the community to raise funds for the Boys and Girls Club. The two years I was an organizer, the race raised over $9,000.
The reason we raised funds for the Boys and Girls Club is because, I volunteered as a Girls on the Run (a running program that teaches middle school girls to be kind and love themselves) Coach for the Boys and Girls Club Harrison Primary branch. While volunteering, I learned the kids could not afford running shoes and registration fees; which were barely covered by the Boys and Girls Club donations. More girls wanted to be in the Girls on the Run program, but the Boys and Girls Club did not have the funds to do so.
Now, the following is provided by the proceeds from the ND Pi Day 5K:
- Running Shoes
- Snacks
- Program Fees
- 5K Practice Race at Harrison Primary
- Support for Boys and Girls Club STEM programs
Regional Women in Science Conference
Sept. 2016
I chaired the speaker committee in arranging eleven external speakers to be keynotes and panelists. Additionally, I assisted the conference director in organizing the overall conference: writing grant proposals, arranging hotel rooms, marketing, and creating the conference website. This was the first ever Regional Women in Science Conference. Due to the success, there is overwhelming support for its continuation.
Caucus for Women in Statistics (CWS)
July 2016
Since July 2016, I have been the CWS membership chair. In 2017, I joined the CWS On-the-Go Mentoring committee as an early career professional and website editor; a mentoring program for women in statistics.
Applying Scholarships, Fellowships, and Grants Seminar at Los Alamos National Laboratory
July 2015 and 2016
I coordinated a seminar on how to apply for scholarships, fellowships, and grants seminar for the Los Alamos National Laboratory student interns with the Los Alamos Student Programs Manager and Assistant Manager, resulting an attendance of over 60 LANL summer interns.
STEM Luncheon Series
Aug. 2014 – April 2016
I assisted in organizing the monthly STEM Luncheon Series with an average attendance of over 40, where invited speakers talk about resources on campus or their personal experience being a woman in STEM. This is the longest standing event for the Association for Women in Science at Notre Dame.
University of Notre Dame Career Center
Sept. 2014 and March 2015
I advised undergraduates considering graduate school and inspire women in pursuing doctorates in STEM as part of two panels.
South Bend Community First Friday Event
March 2014 and Feb. 2015
I performed a probability hands-on activity called Monty Hall with the South Bend Community who attend the First Friday Event to learn more about mathematics and statistics.
Girls on the Run Michiana
The team I coached at Harrison Primary. The poster was from an activity, where after each girl finished a lap she wrote a positive comment about someone on the poster.
Jan. – May 2014
I mentored and taught girls in middle school to “inspire [them] to be joyful, healthy, and confident using a fun, experience-based curriculum which creatively integrates running.” – Girls on the Run
Idaho National Laboratory's My Amazing Future Program
High school students that came to our workshop.
May 2013
I helped a workshop to encourage dozens of young girls to pursue careers in STEM through fun physics demonstrations.
Idaho State University Physics Department Demonstration Shows
This image is at our largest event, the spring demo show in 2012. The person in the image is my good friend, Jason Stock, with a leaf blower and toilet paper at the end.
Aug. 2008 – May 2013
I assisted in presenting educational demonstration shows for K-12 students throughout Idaho, Nevada, and Utah; reaching out to thousands of children to engage them in science.
Southeastern Idaho Mathematics Counts
Feb. 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2013
I assisted the event by setting-up, grading, and judging.
Future Faces of Physics Award Project
Aug. – Nov. 2012
I helped teach a local Native American fourth grade class how to design and build egg launchers. After building their launchers, the students in participated at a local competition.
Annual SPS ISU Chapter Haunted Laboratory
Oct. 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011
I initially assisted in setting up the Haunted Laboratory to scare children with spooky physics and taught them the science of light and illusion. Later on, I helped the club collaborate with Kiwanis Club in expanding the Haunted Laboratory to a warehouse to accommodate more children.
The event is still continuing along with the Kiwanis Club.
Annual SPS ISU Chapter Pumpkin Chuck
The Idaho State University Team
Oct. 2009, 2010, and 2011
I organized the event for local high schools and colleges to compete by designing trebuchets or catapults that can fling pumpkins as far and accurate as possible.
Annual SPS ISU Chapter Science Day in the Mall
March 2009 and 2011
While part of the Society of Physics Students Chapter at Idaho State University, I organized an event where we celebrated Einstein’s Birthday and Pi Day with liquid nitrogen ice cream as well as electricity and magnetism activities for children, reaching hundreds of locals.
Annual ISU Science Olympics
March 2010 and 2011
I judged how elementary school students tackled various science competitions and challenges such as building circuits or creating wooden airplanes.