Three female professionals in science-related careers shared their journeys with WinS.
Every fall, WinS features three local female professionals in science-related careers as part of its annual seminar series "Journey to the Top: Women's Paths to Success." Each seminar is an opportunity for scientists in training to learn about a specific career path, discuss strategies for career advancement, and reflect on the challenges facing women in the workplace.
Journey to the top
A variety of career paths were featured. In partnership with the Science Writing & Advocacy Club, WinS invited Dr. Jessica Polka to share her path toward science advocacy. Dr. Polka is the founder of ASAPbio, a scientist-driven initiative to promote the use of preprints in life sciences. What started as a passion for structural biology transformed into a calling to revolutionize scientific publishing.
Crystal Harden, Director of Program Initiatives for Morehead Planetarium, gravitated toward science outreach later in her career. At the seminar, she candidly shared some of the obstacles that inspired her to purse a career in cultivating the next generation of scientists. "As a black woman from rural North Carolina, I started out wanting a husband more than a degree." Now Harden has a high-level position and loving family, encouraging attendees to always dream bigger.
The final speaker, Dr. Meg Powell of TARGET PharmaSolutions, shared her unique perspective as a pharmacist-turned-businesswoman. With women only accounting for 7% of Fortune 500 Company CEOs, Dr. Powell is among rarefied company. Through a series of vignettes, she stressed the importance of identifying advocates and developing resiliency.
With these lessons in mind, participants engaged seminar speakers on topics ranging from how to stand out to employers to how to achieve work-life balance after having children. According to graduate student Gloria Nyankima, "It was refreshing to see a real success story."
Speaker suggestions? Email uncwins@unc.edu.
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