If you need some incentive to do research with one of these lovely programs, here’s one:

TRAVEL

So, as of now I have been fortunate enough to travel and present at two conferences: the 2013 SACNAS National Conference and the 2013 oSTEM National Conference. It would take me blabbering to you, stumbling on multiple sentences, speaking way too fast, and probably waving my hands in the air frequently with excitement to fully immerse you in what this is like but I’ll try to give you the gist with this post:

Off to San Antonio, Texas! And a mighty and beautiful city it was! It had been a while since I had traveled anywhere but I was so happy to go somewhere new, especially with such great people from UCSB!

Look at these gorgeous people!

If you have not already heard about SACNAS’ brilliance, let me enlighten you. SACNAS (The Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science) is an organization whose mission is to increase diversity in the STEM fields, particularly looking at underrepresented minority groups and low-income students. Let me clarify that they support all ethnic diversity, not just Chicano/a and Native American students and you also do not have to be underrepresented to support the cause, I am a proud Lebanese/European man and I embrace and support the mission and values of SACNAS.

My amazing mentor, Jose Navarrete, and I representing the Moskovits group in Texas

Each year, SACNAS holds a National Conference (this was their 40th) to bring students and professionals together. It’s basically awesome research and speakers, networking opportunities, tons of internship and graduate school information, and simply marvelous and diverse culture packed (and I mean PACKED.) into a 4-5 day event. It was inconceivable (INCONCEIVABLE!) the number of people at this conference; like 4000, but who’s counting? There are seminars, workshops, recruiting booths, free stuff, free food, socials, networking events, poster and oral presentations… the list goes on. A good chunk of this conference’s awesomeness is also attributed to having Jose Navarrete, my research mentor and friend, come with us from UCSB. He was and always is really supportive of everything I do, and I am glad that he enjoyed the conference. I hope that next year he will be one of the graduate student presenters, even bring back an award!

I was honored to be one of the poster presenters this year which was a phenomenal experience! This was only third poster presentation and, although I hated the poster medium initially, it is definitely growing on me. More than that, this was my first time presenting at a conference, my jaw just about hit the floor when professionals and professors approached me to hear about our research or compliment my work. I may as well have been riding rainbows…which leads me to my next conference: oSTEM 2013!

Now if you have not heard of oSTEM, please come talk to me, as this will involve the said gestures above, with probably even more enthusiasm: do be careful. oSTEM (out in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) is a national organization that strives to promote and support LGBTQ (that is, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer) students, professionals, and their allies in their pursuit of STEM fields. Similar to SACNAS, oSTEM aims to increase the diversity within STEM fields while simultaneously conquering issues with discrimination, oSTEM simply focuses on the LGBTQ community, which is not currently recognized or protected as a minority group. Hint hint, it is an important organization.

Mel Kanne and I started a chapter of oSTEM at UCSB last Spring Quarter, and just about flipped (cyclohexane flip status, this is real) when we found funding to go to the 2013 oSTEM National Conference in New York City, NY hosted by…

That’s right, Google. Google Headquarters, NY. oSTEM is cool.

This was oSTEM 3rd National Conference and although smaller than the SACNAS conference, equally extraordinary. As an openly gay student myself, who hopes to someday make a difference in the world with research, many of the goals of oSTEM are really close to my heart. This is essentially why I bubble with enthusiasm at even the slightest mention of oSTEM.

The oSTEM Conference was a lot more personal, which was a great contrast to the SACNAS Conference. Though I met lots of people at the SACNAS Conference, the oSTEM Conference was great because I was able to make more personal connections. I was surrounded by a bunch of queer nerds and I could not have been happier! It was so helpful to connect with other oSTEM chapters across the nation, not to mention such outstanding friends! I connected with some really great graduate students too, even a couple professors (one of whom I might try to work for this upcoming summer).

Two keynote speakers: Google and MAKE! Magazine, a Dinner with Scientists, workshops and seminars, more great food and free stuff, and just so much fun! Again I was fortunate enough to present my research, this time an oral presentation to about 40ish people. And of course, I loved the sightseeing with Mel and Nedda, one of the other officers of our chapter and a great friend of mine. It was truly an amazing conference, I cannot wait to go back to both conferences next year in Los Angeles, CA (for SACNAS) and Atlanta, GA (for oSTEM)!

And I promise that my next blog post will be more about my research, clearly my mind and heart are still in Texas and New York!

The best Co-Founder and Co-President I could ask for, Mel Kanne