New York City Minority Graduate Student Network

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New York CityMinority Graduate Student Network

• Creating a Community for the New Generation of
• Minority Scientists

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Who We Are

• We are a new, student initiated,
  organization aimed at bringing together minority
  (traditionally underrepresented) graduate
  students in the biomedical sciences from all
  research institutions in the New York City
  metropolitan area.

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Institutions Represented in our Network
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What Were About

• There is wealth of minority graduate students in
  the NYC area. The aim of NYC-MGSN is to bring
  these students together to form a community that
  may not be available at our current institutions.
• Our current aims include
• creating a community for minority students.
• actively seeking and organizing opportunities for
  mentorship from minority Ph.D.s.
• providing opportunities to network with
  successful Ph.D.s.
• facilitating communication between sources of
  support for our community and our community
  members.

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Our Events
Career Development
Social / Networking

• NYC-MGSN Inaugural Mixer _at_ NYU-Med (April 2006)
• NYC- MGSN Night at Club Light
  (May 2006)
• Fall Open Bar Happy Hour _at_ PROOF (September 2006)

• Post-Doc / Graduate Student Reception _at_ The
  Rockefeller University (July 2006)
• Funding your PhD and Post-Doc Symposium _at_ NYU-Med
  (Fall 2006)

Shades of Success Seminar Series

• Stereotype Threat and the Nature and Nurture of
  Intelligence _at_ Rockefeller U. (Feb. 2007)

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NYC-MGSN Inaugural Mixer _at_ NYU-Med (April 2006)
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NYC-MGSN Inaugural Mixer _at_ NYU-Med (April 2006)
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NYC-MGSN Inaugural Mixer _at_ NYU-Med (April 2006)
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Post-Doc / Graduate Student Reception _at_ The
Rockefeller University (July 2006)

• This event included a panel of distinguished
  scientists who havecompleted their doctoral
  degrees and are pursuing various careers.
• Academic Post-Doc
• Industry Post-Doc
• Teaching Post-doc
• Higher Education Administration
• Panelists talked about their experiences as
  Post-Docs, how to find a Post-Doc position, and
  answered questions from the audience.
• Over 60 graduate students and Post-Docs in
  attendance.

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Post-Doc / Graduate Student Reception _at_ The
Rockefeller University (July 2006)
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Post-Doc / Graduate Student Reception _at_ The
Rockefeller University (July 2006)
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Funding Your PhD and Post-Doc(Oct. 2006 _at_ NYU)

• Invited Speakers
• Christina Medina
• Fellow, Ford Foundation Fellowship Programs
• Alfred C. Johnson, Ph.D.
• Acting Director, Office of Loan Repayment and
  Scholarship
• Director, Undergraduate Scholarship Program, NIH
• Sandra ThomasExecutive Director, NSF-IGERT
  National Recruitment Program,
• Institute for Broadening Participation

• Over 40 graduate students and post-docs in
  attendance.
• Speakers covered topics ranging from NIH and Ford
  fellowships for both graduate students and
  post-docs, advise on how to successfully apply to
  this and other programs, and the NSF-IGERT
  programs across the nation.
• Information was handed out about NIH, NSF,
  UNCF-MERK, and other sources of funding.

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Shades of Success 07 Seminar Series

• This seminar series addresses non-professional
  issues that affect most graduate students, in
  particular minority students, and how to overcome
  them.
• Motivational speakers
• How to deal with stress
• Personal Finances
• Minority issues

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Stereotype Threat and the Nature and Nurture of
IntelligenceFeb 27, 2007 _at_ Rockefeller

• Joshua Aronson, Ph.D.
• Associate Professor of Applied Psychology
• NYU Steinhardt School of Education
• His work aims to understand and remediate race
  and gender gaps in educational achievement and
  standardized test performance.
• Stereotype threat (being targeted by well-known
  cultural stereotypes like blacks are
  unintelligent or girls cant do math)
  engenders a number of interesting psychological
  and physiological responses, many of which
  interfere with intellectual performance and
  academic motivation.
• Their work offers a far more optimistic view of
  race and gender gaps than the older theories that
  focused on poverty, culture, or genetic factors.

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How to feel as Bright and Capable as Everyone
Seems to Think You AreMarch 15, 2007 _at_ NYU

• Valerie Young, PhD
• Her talk focuses on the Impostor Syndrome How
  high achieving people seem unable to internalize
  their accomplishments, and how rather than
  offering assurance, each new achievement and
  subsequent challenge only serves to intensify the
  ever-present fear of being found out for an
  impostor.
• Explore your own internal rule-book, increase you
  insight into your own self-limiting philosophies,
  and create a personalized plan for change.
• Discussion of practical strategies for
  interrupting the Impostor Syndrome.

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So, what now?

• Website (www.nycmgsn.com)
• Funding
• Obtain Non-Profit status
• Increase the number of institutions and student
  members
• Outreach (High School, College)
• Organize more events to address issues in the
  minority graduate student population