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Why do you want to be a graduate representative for the DEI committee?

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"I'm a current grad representative and I want to continue being a voice for minorities, including those of whom I do not identify with. I highly enjoy and feel belonging in this leadership position, as I have been and would like to continue building opportunities and resources that bolster marginalized identities."

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"As a graduate student, it is often difficult to advocate for ourselves and have our voices be heard by the chemistry department and larger University community. The DEI committee provides an avenue for us to be advocates on behalf of the entire chemistry graduate student body. It is because of this that I am most eager to be a representative for the committee: supporting all graduate students and developing initiatives that build a sense of community across the department by creating a department where all feel comfortable, welcomed, and heard. I believe that the being a representative for the DEI committee is a way to make meaningful change in the daily lives of graduate students by advocating for all of those around us."

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What do you envision your duties as a graduate representative to be?

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"I see the job of a representative serving two main roles: serve as a liaison between the graduate student body and faculty and build awareness of DEI throughout the department. While these main sound like passive roles, I imagine being an active participant in working to understand the inequities that students sense throughout the department and work with faculty to address those issues. Furthermore, as part of the DEI committee I see our role as spreading awareness about DEI across the department through events like invited speakers, graduate student/ faculty discussions like the Identity Awareness Week events, and developing new ideas and ways of educating about building a diverse, equitable, and inclusive department."

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"Building off of the amazing work this past year, I hope to continue invited speakers in colloquium across the entire academic year and also incorporate workshops and trainings that can further educate the department about diverse, equitable, and inclusive environments such as implicit bias training or bystander intervention training. Additionally, after seeing the invited speaker talks this semester, one of my goals would be to work with other departments in the STEM fields and CLAS to develop a larger DEI group that can collaborate across departments."

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"To name a few: leading through inclusivity, engaging with the grad student body (especially those w/ marginalized identities), contributing ideas and plans for DEI initiatives, serving as leaders whom others can confide in, actively uplifting and participating in anti-racist work."

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"While I do believe I can be a strong advocate for the graduate students and I that i will work to ensure that I am able to be sensitive to the diverse student body, I recognize that, as a white male, I have a very limited perspective when it comes to a lot of the issues faced by those in the department. I acknowledge that I have been the benefactor from the lack of diversity and inequitable environments in academia but still vehemently believe that all graduate students deserve to be a part of a safe, equitable environment in which their voices are heard. I will strive to advocate for all voices in the department and confront my own biases as part of this process. I know that having the opportunity to be a DEI representative will not only be a way for me to educate others and enact meaningful change, but that it will also be a challenging growing process."

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What do you hope you will accomplish as a graduate representative in the incoming 2021-2022 academic year? Alternatively, what are some DEI initiatives or contributions you hope to implement?

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Do you believe your leadership or participation in DEI initiatives will represent the needs of the students or the department? If yes, how so? If not, why not?

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How would you describe your leadership? Can you provide examples or anecdotes of your leadership within the academic space?

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"When I think about what being a graduate representative for the DEI committee entails, I think about a bridge. Often I find that what many people need and want is a way to voice their concerns without fear of judgement, retaliation, or any negative consequences. I desire to be a voice for those who may feel hesitant about sharing their interests with faculty or administrative figures and act as a bridge between students and those who hold more power. I am so appreciative of the formation of this committee because it is the foundation of change that needs to occur within the department. I know that the DEI Cohort and the DEI Committee in the department have the people, the power, and the privilege to make tangible changes and I strongly believe in this initiative and our members!"

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"There are obvious responsibilities, such as attending the DEI cohort/committee meetings and communicating between students and administration that I will prioritize. Beyond that though, I envision my duties as a graduate representative to: 1) Champion DEI training opportunities for members of the department. I have already helped create and implemented the departments first TA microaggression training and envision other important conversations adjacent to this to occur. 2) Create meaningful statements on behalf of the committee and department when specific minoritized groups are negatively targeted. This is incredibly important to me – when the attacks in Atlanta targeting Asian-Americans occurred, I felt alone and invisible. However, the statement from the DEI committee to the department was extremely meaningful and powerful – this is something that should be prioritized so all feel welcome and safe in our chemistry community. We must be proactive and educated on current events in order to be there for all students in the ways they may need it. 3) Work with faculty and those in the graduate college to provide safe spaces for our students to partake in when needed (similar to the identity awareness week which was a huge success)."

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"Some large projects I want to take on as grad rep: 1) continue implementation of anti-racism workshop, 2) development of a DEI service award for grad students, 3) normalize DEI colloquia and identity awareness initiatives (perhaps annually), & 4) Chemistry outreach to underrepresented communities in surrounding area."

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"In addition to what was stated above, I would like to see more opportunities for equity across disciplines – for example, there exists a lack of feedback in seminars from faculty. Through word of mouth, I know the organic chemistry seminar speakers are provided faculty feedback after students present, but other disciplines are not afforded those same opportunities for growth. Additionally, as a representative from CSARS, I would like to prioritize a joint safety training in mental health and/or creating safe spaces for all members in our community. DEI initiatives need to be prioritized the same way our physical lab safety is and I think it would be very powerful if there was a collaboration."

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"Yes and no. Yes, as I have multiple marginalized identities that influence my leadership (e.g., Asian, immigrant, LGBTQ+). No, and I acknowledge that my limited experience on identity cannot wholly represent everyone. For this, and for the identities that I do not possess, it is my growing commitment to solicit DEI participation from as many diverse grad students as possible."

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"Yes, my leadership will represent the needs of the students – throughout my time at Iowa, I have been intentional about making various connections across different disciplines and different student groups within the department so I am aware of and share many of the concerns individuals have."

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"I find that my most influential leaders break free from generic molds, and allow themselves to be unapologetic and loud- I strive for this as well. One example I hold dearly is that after the Atlanta, GA shootings, I led the effort to draft, ratify, and publish a letter on AAPI injustice to the Chem department. I was especially disappointed that no other orgs or department heads said a thing, so I looked to other orgs (e.g., Pan Asian Council, UI APACC) to engage in community relief. To name a few events: Vigil for the Asian Lives Lost, #StopAsianHate Rally, Community Space for Asian Healing."

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"I would describe myself as a leader who aims to balance many perspectives and finds solutions that incorporate a diverse set of ideas. I have been actively involved with the DEI cohort over the past year working to initiate activities such as formal bystander and sexual assault trainings for graduate students. Additionally, I have been working with other members to increase the equity surrounding the TA experience and hope to work with the department on addressing some of the challenges graduate TAs face with these positions. Additionally, during my undergraduate time, I worked as the advisor for a team of five resident assistants as we provided support students in a first-year dorm. Helping students navigate the first year of college and live in a diverse residential building. I believe this previous work relates very much to understanding the needs of those in a community and working to create a space where they feel comfortable to grow as individuals and learn from those around them."

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"I would describe my leadership as welcoming. I envision a strong leader to be someone who guides conversations and takes initiative (of which I possess), but more importantly creates a welcoming environment for those to comfortably participate. I try to be very aware of the power of listening – as a graduate representative, I will listen first and act second which is what a strong leader should strive to be. As a member of the team who created and implemented a microaggressions training for all TA’s, I was intentional about what kinds of experiences individuals had before coming into the training. Specifically, a member of the chemistry community reached out to me following this training and was hurt by one of the messages that was touched on. I was able to create a space for them to share, listen to their point of view, and offer a response to their concern. Being able to recognize that people are all on their own journey of engaging in DEI work is an important quality in making meaningful change and one that I possess."