Graduate students are often focused on learning specific technical skills through their research; as a result, opportunities to develop transferable skills may be limited in the lab. Getting involved with a student organization is a great opportunity to gain experience in leadership, communication, and project management, as well as access a larger network and more resources.
In choosing a group, consider what you would like to gain from the experience. Student organizations cover all topics. These can range from professional endeavors centering around promoting diversity and inclusivity in your field, to student publications, to a union and more. During my PhD at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I joined a newly formed group called Catalysts for Science Policy to learn more about science policy careers. Not only did I learn about career opportunities, I also made many connections to people in the field, developed relevant skills, and found a way to try to make positive impacts on my community using these skills.
Lu Wang, a recent PhD graduate from Oregon State University and former steering committee member of the Women of Color Caucus (WoCC) , describes the founding members of the group meeting at the Women of Color breakfast at the Oregon Women in Higher Education conference and other related events. She says, “I didn’t feel like there was support or ways to build community for graduate students of color on campus. So this group came out of that need.”
The structure of the group can impact your experience. For me, joining a growing group was a really valuable experience in learning how to restructure an organization with growing demands, as well as effective (and ineffective) ways to work teams. Alternatively, joining a well-established group might give you better connections with alumni as well as clear expectations and roles.
If you are looking for immediate leadership opportunities, or can’t find the kind of group you want to join, starting your own group can be extremely rewarding. Sarah Stevens, currently the Data Science Hub Facilitator at the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery, got her start in teaching computation skills by starting a computational learning group. She says, “It [was] hard to get people involved and showing up… I mostly just continued to try to make it useful for me and the folks who did show up and that kept it going.”
Likewise, Lu describes many choices made during the formation of the Women of Color Caucus: what kind of audience (undergraduates, faculty), where they could be hosted, what kind of events, etc. “A part of figuring out our identity was also strategizing about how we could create longevity for the group,” she says. “Eventually we decided that we would be an official student organization with the university, but also be a caucus group within our union, the Coalition of Graduate Employees. This way, incoming graduate students will be more likely to hear about WoCC.”
Whatever size group you join, there are many resources to help improve your organization. Lu’s group, for example, sought funding from the Graduate School, OSU’s funding for Student Organization Resources for Community Engagement (SORCE) and the Diversity and Cultural Engagement office, as well as donations from various campus departments and colleges. She says, “It was surprising how many people, departments, and organizations were willing to help us out just because we had asked.”
Larger networks can help you get started. For instance, the National Science Policy Network provides resources like microgrants for events, travel grants, and connections with groups on other campuses. Sarah describes on her blog using Mozilla resources [https://science.mozilla.org/programs/studygroups] to form a computational group.
Student organizations give you the ability to practice skills you may not otherwise have a chance to do in graduate research, and benefiting people aiming for both academic and non-academic careers. For example, I was able to use my opportunity to learn to write policy memos, apply for grants for projects, and plan events. This gave me a better idea of what works and what doesn’t, as well as insight into careers beyond academia. Sarah believes starting the group helped improve many skills including communication, organization, and teaching computational skills, and ultimately those skills played a huge role in leading to her current position as the Data Science Hub Facilitator.
One question for students might have is how to manage their time, between research and outside activities, and particularly how to discuss these activities with their advisors. In some cases, these activities help build research skills, such as data science skills, or even lead to projects that ultimately are incorporated into thesis work. Having a direct conversation with your advisor can help develop mutually beneficial opportunities. On the other hand, if a student has a less-than-supportive advisor, students may choose to keep research and outside work separate, and exercise care in time management. Consider the assessing how much time you want to spend and the overall timing of your engagement—for many students, starting early can be beneficial, before research expectations increase; others might find more time as they wrap up projects before graduation. Working with teams can be helpful, especially with other students at different stages. For instance, when one student is preparing for a qualifying exam, others on the team could contribute more and switch off tasks as needed.
Above all else, student groups can be fun and build a great network. Lu says, “Being involved in WoCC also helped me step outside of my office and department and be more involved in the campus-wide community. I think most importantly I gained a sense of community.” With the current pandemic and many people working remotely, finding more formalized opportunities to meet as a group can help build networks.
Research can sometimes be draining, and seeing the end results takes years. In contrast, planning events or working on projects in student groups can yield short-term, rewarding goals that build confidence and deter burn out. You can gather with peers to geek out about topics that interest you, support each other in challenging times, and encourage each to achieve goals that you wouldn’t have thought possible alone.
Jenny Bratburd is a policy fellow for the Missouri Science and Technology Policy Initiative. She graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison with a PhD in Microbiology, where she served as the policy engagement chair for Catalysts for Science Policy.