Category: Leadership Introductions

Hi, I’m Alexa Sterling, the Research Coordinator on the SWMS Steering Committee and PhD student at the University of Rhode Island (URI). I’m an officer on the current Steering Committee, and I’m excited to share how I became involved with SWMS – from attending my first SWMS Symposium alone, to starting the URI SWMS Chapter, and now serving on the SWMS Steering Committee. And most importantly, how this group has provided the support, friendship, and inspiration to “just keep SWMSing” to the PhD finish line.

In the first year of grad school, I was forwarded the 2015 SWMS Symposium event announcement with the message “great group, great event.” New to grad school, I didn’t want to miss out on meeting SWMS and learning more about them. But being new to the area meant I didn’t know many people to join me/carpool/be my lunch buddy. So I worked up the courage, signed up last minute, couldn’t figure out how to pay registration, drove to the meeting alone, and sat down in the auditorium nervous but excited. In these early days of science Twitter, I used #SWMS15 to break the ice (@AquaticSterling, give me a 👋). I left that day excited about new connections and inspired by senior women in the field. 

I had to bring this SWMS community to my institution, so I found other graduate students who felt the same way and sent listserv emails to survey interest from students and faculty. I received over 50 responses from individuals interested in SWMS at URI, and the first SWMS Chapter was established with a lot of help from students, post-docs, faculty, and staff at URI. We even held our own SWMS Symposium with over 120 attendees just two years later! 

I knew I felt an impact from SWMS – I’m more confident speaking my mind, I go to conferences and see SWMS friends, I actively set work boundaries for balance, and I feel inspired to continue on this path in marine science that I know women before me helped clear. I wanted to quantify these impacts, and critically examine how to improve and increase positive impacts. I thought of advice I received at my first SWMS Symposium: “sometimes make opportunities” and that’s how I joined the Steering Committee as Research Coordinator – through a position I helped create. So, we assembled a great research team to create and assess surveys for before and after SWMS Symposiums. You may have even taken one of these – thank you!!  We now have responses from three different SWMS Symposiums in three different states. Stay tuned, we’re excited to share the results of these with you!

Alexa

The Pod Post is a series of letters from the SWMS Steering Committee, sent out in our newsletter. You can sign up for our mailing list here. Pod = group of whales/seals/dolphins, post = letter!

Hi! I’m Chrissy Hernandez, and I am the Chair of the SWMS Steering Committee (SWMS-SC). That means that I convene and facilitate our online SWMS-SC meetings, keep us moving toward our long-term goals, and support the rest of the SWMS-SC in their specific positions (chapter engagement, mentorship program, research, communications). I’ve also helped to plan 3 fall symposiums at WHOI! We’ve realized that our lack of formal financial systems are holding us back from pursuing some of our larger goals. I’m working to figure out how we can move towards treating SWMS like a non-profit organization. This includes thinking about the income and expenses that SWMS might have over the next few years, and how to keep our financial system simple. SWMS is currently run by early career women, and we think it’s important to our mission that it stays that way. In the long run, formalizing our organization will allow us to broaden our reach and better serve our community.

On a more personal note, I’d like to share a bit more about who I am. I identify as a white Hispanic queer cisgender woman. Throughout my life, and particularly during graduate school, I’ve struggled with anxiety and depression. I love reading — I’ve already read 14 books in 2019! I’m a vegetarian and I really enjoy cooking for my friends. My PhD work focuses on larval fish, and ultimately I’d like to contribute scientifically to fisheries management and conservation. I currently live with my boyfriend, who is also a PhD student. Our favorite things to do together are bike rides and backpacking vacations.

I was born in Miami, FL, and grew up in the suburbs in northern New Jersey. My father is first-generation American; his mother came to the USA from Cuba shortly before he was born. My abuela (grandmother) still lives in Miami and doesn’t speak English. My father did his PhD when I was a kid, and my parents split up shortly after he graduated. Both of my parents are professors — my dad teaches history of Christianity at a seminary school, and my mom teaches math at a community college. I also have a younger brother who is doing his undergrad degree in philosophy at Rutgers University. I’m super proud of him and also grateful for the way he pushes me to think about the world differently.

Anyway, these are some of my influences, both in my scientific work and in SWMS. When we talk within and across identity groups, we build strength and resilience into our communities. I find community-building to be extremely rewarding, both in my graduate program, and through SWMS. And I think that a sense of community — both the feeling of being connected to others that are like us and the feeling of being valued for what makes each of us different — is what we are all looking for as SWMS members.

Until next time,

Chrissy