Two Michigan State University students, Kaelyn Saunders and Bianca Serda, have recently been awarded the Christine Mirzayan Science and Technology Policy Graduate Fellowship from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington D.C.
Since its inception in 1997, less than 10 MSU students have been awarded this prestigious fellowship.
This fellowship gives participants an immersive, 12-week experience at the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine in Washington, DC. They provide independent, objective advice to inform policy with evidence, spark progress and innovation, and confront challenging issues for the benefit of society.
During their 12 weeks, fellows at the National Academies are assigned a mentor and learn about the world of science and technology policy. This experience helps them to discover new career paths, understand the role of scientists and engineers in national advising, develop the skills to work in science policy, and more.
For Saunders, discovering the Mirzayan Fellowship began with a question asked by many doctoral students: “Should I pursue a job in academia, or should I explore industry or corporate careers?”
To explore her options, she began reaching out to conduct informational interviews that might point her in a direction. After one such interview, a former faculty member brought her attention to the fellowship.
Saunders emphasized that working in the academies changed the way she approached her research.
“It helped me think about my research and its implications differently. Now, I think about them more in terms of which implications are the most to least feasible given the ease of implementing them, cost-effectiveness, etc. It also helped me think about how I can better communicate the overall goal of my research and its findings to broader audiences.”
While her work helped Saunders shape her academic career goals, she pointed out that the connections she made were equally valuable.
“It helped me make connections with a lot of people working at think tanks and non-profits of interest to me,” said Saunders. “Additionally, our cohort was pretty close, and I know that I’ve made some lifelong friends through the program.”
For Serda, the motivation was also related to her career path.
Description automatically generated“I have always known I do not want to continue in academia, but thought I was limited to finding a job in plant biotech companies,” said Serda. “I applied for the Mirzayan Fellowship to learn more about science policy and potential career pathways. Now I could see myself working in science policy after completing my Ph.D.”
Saunders and Serda both are participants of the Alliances for Graduate Education and the Professoriate program at MSU. This program supports the recruitment, retention, and graduation of underrepresented U. S. minorities in doctoral programs in the natural and social sciences, mathematics, and engineering.
They agreed that the AGEP program helped them to successfully apply to the fellowship.
“Through AGEP, I have been involved in the NSF GRFP writing workshop during the time I was applying for the NSF GRFP,” said Serda. “It helped me gain confidence in my writing, which I was able to apply during this Mirzayan Fellowship.”
“The AGEP program encourages members to network with other professionals, and it was because of this that I felt comfortable reaching out to people for informational interviews, which led me to the Mirzayan program opportunity,” said Saunders.
“It also provides members with opportunities to get engaged in various service initiatives. Because of my participation in some of these initiatives, I was able to build up the service and leadership experiences, which then strengthened my application materials for the Mirzayan Program.”
“We are thrilled to hear about the achievements of our AGEP members, Kaelyn and Bianca,” said AGEP Program Director Steven Thomas. “They are truly role models here in the AGEP Learning Community and at MSU at large. This fellowship is prestigious and a testimony to their hard work as professionals and students.”