On November 5-6 2021, the Michigan State University AGEP Program hosted the 2021 AGEP Student Success Conference virtually. Over 200 participants (representing 87 institutions), included members from institutions across the state of Michigan, former Summer Research Opportunities interns, as well as out-of-state undergraduate and graduate student researchers, post-docs as well as faculty. One of the unique aspects of the AGEP Student Success Conference, is that the research presentations not only discuss technical aspects, but also how they related to national social impacts. There were nine areas of social impact based on the 2021 group of presenters including, Family Relations, Social Equity, Mental Health, Environment, Criminal Justice Reform, K-12 Education, Workforce Development, Higher Education and Healthcare. The AGEP Student Success Conference hosted by MSU is cross-disciplinary experience, full of scientists, engineers, social scientists, policy makers and community leaders and students. This year’s conference theme was “Leading through Change and Becoming a Change-Agent”. When asked about their reflections on the theme, Morgan Cheatham (graduate student at the University of Michigan) shared, “I thought it was a really great theme. As a STEM student, it can sometimes be hard to put research in the context of wider society. I love that the theme of this conference helped me to remember why I'm doing the research that I am doing and see how that research can benefit others.”
We were delighted to have fantastic list experts as plenary speakers during the conference including, Randall Roper (IUPUI), Etta Ward (IUPUI), Carmel Martin-Fairey (Harris Stowe State University), Levi Thompson (University of Delaware), Gina Sánchez Gibau (IUPUI), Kelly Mack (Association of American Colleges and Universities). We also extend a special thanks for Dr. Jabbar Bennett, MSU Chief Diversity Officer and Dr. Thomas D. Jeitschko, Senior Associate Provost and Postdoctoral Studies and Dean of the Graduate School for their welcoming remarks to audience.
This conference would not have been made possible without our sponsors like MSUFCU, The Gradute School at MSU, and the MEME initiative. We are excited to announce that we had recruiters from Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Ball State University, Cleveland State University, Indiana University, Iowa State University, Kansas University, Penn State College of Medicine, Stowers Institute, UCLA School of Engineering, University of Missouri, University of Rochester, Michigan State University, Vanderbilt College of Engineering, and the University of Michigan College of Engineering. Michigan State University graduate programs as well as the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine with other recruiters discussed their current job openings, advanced degree opportunities at the virtual career fair and mixer.
When asked about the value and impact of the conference, Lisadine Cherubin (undergraduate at University of Rochester) said, “AGEP allowed me to practice developing my elevator speech on my career interest when meeting different recruiters. This is a very important skill to have, especially at a conference because everything is fast-paced.” Rahul Jain (graduate student at Michigan State University), also remarked that “The AGEP Student Success helps me get a newer perspective on my research as well as introduces me to some amazing work taking place outside my discipline.”
For more information about the AGEP Student Success Conference, MSU AGEP Learning Community, or recent journal article about MSU AGEP program, contact MSU AGEP Program Director, Steven Thomas (deshawn@msu.edu) at 517-432-3268.
