From: Out in STEM
Date: January 25, 2023
Subject: oSTEM: Recap + Changes



oSTEM logo.

Queers Read This!

Run out of snacks yet?

    Last week was a slay! Be sure to schedule your dentist appointment because we are sugar stans at oSTEM, and judging (non-derogatory) from the empty boxes, you are too. In all seriousness, we loved seeing you enjoy the snacks, and appreciated you giving us a bit of your time! Feel free to drag along some friends next week, or ask someone out (#DateIdea), totally not as a ploy to increase member numbers and finally secure a budget for next semester (so far, all our events have been “grassroots” efforts w/o any of that sweet University endowment stash, so imagine our plans once we access that). 
    Speaking of snacks, you should follow the EBoard (as well as other queers you met last Friday) on Instagram! We totally forgot to include our socials in the presentation part of the GIM! Here are our Instagrams, add us for our life lore:

Ellie (our slay president + publicity chair): @that_girl_named_ellie

Nhuja (our sexy business manager + industry chair): @nhujagoodmorning

Kevin (our quirky but loveable..right? secretary + social chair): @kevin.tingz

    We apologize in advance for the massive amounts of information these past 3 newsletters have packed. We tried to merge as much of it as possible, but there are a lot of valuable details to share and establish to shrink newsletters (but not opportunities) starting next week. Thank you for your patience!

Last Week

    Missed our GIM last week? That’s okay. Life, anxiety, work, mental health, etc. are valid reasons! There is always a space in oSTEM waiting just for you, feel free to join us next Friday.
    Last week we quickly reviewed what oSTEM is/does (as a national organization and as a campus chapter), who we are (as your EBoard), and gave specifics & behind-the-scenes-T on our set/ongoing plans for the semester. 
    We provided more details in person, but if you’d like to see the slides, you can find them here. In them (slide 17), you can find Skyler Cumming’s contact information, a Northeastern University representative who has offered herself as a contact specifically for oSTEM members ahead of Northeastern’s visit next month. This is a very valuable connection for students of all years to have for graduate school application guidance (even if you are unsure/not planning to go to grad school right now).

Coming Up

Updates
- Resources & Opportunities Database In CCC 
    To further streamline your resource/opportunity search process, we will be compiling them in our CCC files (link to folder here, the database will go live next week for transition ease this week), regularly updating them & storing them away after their effective date. Moving forward, we will (for the most part) only be including them in our weekly newsletters once to reduce redundancy, improve the layout, and keep them on file for future reference. If you have any questions or concerns about this change, feel free to tell us through our Feedback Survey.
- Feedback Survey Form Now Live: Link
    Feedback Survey? Yup. You know we value your presence and needs, feel free to use this form as another medium of communication involving (but not limited to) any comments, questions, concerns, opportunity submissions, requests, queer highlight suggestions, dietary restrictions, resource requests, compliments (seriously, knowing what most benefits you lets us know what we should continue doing), etc. The form will remain open all semester (some tweaks might be made throughout for a better flow/specific future polling), where you can choose to submit anonymously or include your name/contact info. You can, of course, still contact us through existing mediums (email, Instagram, IRL, etc.)!
- oSTEM Slack Group: Link 
    In order to further help us not overwhelm you with the size of these emails, we have set up a Slack group! Please join to get insider info, connect with other members, and have better group contact than CCC (also because I cannot figure out how CCC works, the survey should be evidence of that lol). 
Note: Link expires in 30 days.
oSTEM-Related
- Northeastern University Visit: February 7, 2023
    The Roux Institute is one of Northeastern University’s newest campuses in its global university system, located just 90 minutes away from Boston in Portland, Maine. They will be coming next month to talk about their graduate program specifics, co-ops available, and their scholarship awards. 
    Event specifics will be shared very soon. In the meantime, here are some flyers with more information. College Visit. Graduate Programs.
- Spring Semester GMMs
    Our regular schedule has been set for the semester, meeting bi-weekly on Fridays from 5-6 pm in Genesee 308. The next meeting dates will be on February 3, February 17, March 3, March 17, March 31, and April 14.
- oSTEM National Membership: Link
    National Membership gives you access to all of oSTEM's resources and scholarships, and it takes max 5 minutes to register. There is also a ton of other information to explore!
oSTEM-Recommended Campus Resources/Organizations
- UR Kearns Center Undergraduate Programs
    We briefly mentioned the Kearns Scholar program at our GIM last week and *strongly* recommend you became a Scholar and take advantage of their resources! The Kearns Scholars program, part of the University of Rochester’s Kearns Center, offers first-generation, low-income, and students of color academic and personal support towards graduation (and after). As a Kearns Scholar you get access to the Center’s computer lab with free printing, an academic advisor, textbook lending, and receive their curated newsletters which compile their fun social events and compiled scholarships/conferences/opportunities links. 
    To become a Scholar, just enroll in their one-credit orientation course (CASC 145: Navigating The Academy), it is a very light 8-week course where you also get to meet other UR students with similar backgrounds (often hard to find because..America). You can find more information here or by asking any of the EBoard members who are also all Kearns Scholars. The Kearns Center also other programs for underrepresented groups in many areas/goals, you can read about them here.
- UR Office of Minority Student Affairs (OMSA)
    Last week, we also mentioned OMSA as another great UR organization you should look into. The Office of Minority Student Affairs (OMSA) specifically helps historically underrepresented (ethnic) minority students through holistic advising, advocacy education, and resource awareness services & opportunities. OMSA proudly celebrates diversity through race and culture awareness, connects you with students & staff who know how you feel as a student of color in a PWI, and helps you navigate the University while not changing yourself, but instead changing it and adding our much-needed imprint on it. They also send helpful newsletters with great scholarship information and other opportunities. Read more about OMSA here
- UR Fellowship Office
    The UR Fellowship Office is a great resource for students, of all majors, helping you find fellowships, awards, and scholarships. Here is a flyer compiling several undergraduate & graduate STEM student opportunities. You can also find a year-by-year list of opportunities for all majors here, which also includes their database for opportunities they have available and can *help you* apply for! 
Outside Opportunities
- Amgen Scholars Program w/ John Hopkins: Due February 1, 2023 @ 11:59 pm EST
    Offers summer research positions with mentors, symposiums, and weekly stipends, as a part of the Amgen Scholars Program also involving other universities, and encourages underrepresented 2nd-year students (or higher) in STEM with financial need to apply. Read more about the program at John Hopkins here.
- Hispanic Scholarship Fund: Due February 15, 2023 
    Awards $500-5,000 scholarships (need-based) to college students of Hispanic descent, mentorship services, internship/job opportunities, summit access, and more. Read more here.
- Boston University Summer Internships: Due March 15, 2023 @ 12 am EST
    10-week summer research program with opportunities in the fields of nanotech, material science, BME, ME, computing, and more. Underrepresented groups in STEM (that’s you!) are encouraged to apply, read more here

In The News

• Niecy Nash-Betts Interview: Link
    Vanity Fair interviewed the iconic Niecy Nash-Betts where she talked about her ‘hersband’, Jessica Betts, the warnings she received about her same-gender marriage potentially “impacting her career”, and her role in Netflix’s Dahmer show. Her view is interesting because we know the backlash following the release (and success) of Dahmer, its disservice to the victim’s families/loved ones, and her positionality given the disturbing role race and queerness had in that series of crimes. I include this because having these conversations on media production & consumption, its historical use of race & queerness as plot devices, and the commodification of trauma, are uncomfortable but important and overdue. 
• HIV Vaccine Trial Issues: Link
    Hopefully, you remember the Rochester Victory Alliance visit last semester which helped us understand not just the logistics of clinical trials with community reps & international collaboration, but also the biological complexity involved, bureaucratic roadblocks, and historical relationship the virus has with the LGBTQ+ community (as well as ongoing trends). If you missed it, we hope to have them over again this semester and improve our public health literacy and awareness. Disproportionate HIV contraction rates highlight stigma’s legacy in medicine. UHS/UCC and other campus resources will be shared next week w/ helpful details.
• ROAR Events: Link
    Rochester’s award-winning (and oSTEM-backed) LGBTQ+ club, ROAR, is busy with all sorts of events and drag fun. Every Friday they are hosting free RuPaul’s Drag Race viewing parties starting at 8 pm, and tomorrow (1/26) you can paint with Eva Flow from 6-8 pm. We love the people at ROAR so show them some love and have some queer fun!

Queer Highlight - Under Maintenance :(

    Because of the recent walls of text (aka our last 3 newsletters) you’ve received, this week’s queer highlight will be moved to a later week. Fortunately, next Wednesday is the start of February (aka Black History Month) and I want to focus specifically on powerful work by Black, LGBTQ+ people. I do have a book and some activist theory work in mind but, as always, feel free to make a suggestion (especially now that the feedback form is live)! 

You survived this newsletter! Tysm <3

oSTEM Bi-Weekly GMM Logo

EVENT

oSTEM Bi-Weekly GMM

Friday, February 3, 2023
5:00pm - 6:00pm
Genesee 308, 500 Joseph C. Wilson Blvd, Rochester, NY 14627, United States
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Our bi weekly member meeting

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