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MAY 2024

Graduation Is Here: Now What?

After an endless stream of classes, projects, presentations, and tests, graduation is finally here. While this important milestone may seem like the light at the end of the tunnel, the inevitable question is "What’s next?" Once upon a time, the standard answer revolved around employment. But according to research done by Forage, nearly half of college students are not confident or only somewhat confident that they know how to get a job. That’s true of high school students as well. A You Science survey found that 75 percent of high school students reported feeling moderately, slightly, or not at all prepared for college or a career. Thankfully there are other options to consider.

 

Take a Gap Year

Typically, a gap year is taken after high school or prior to a career, but it can be any time away from your academic studies. According to the Gap Year Association, an Oregon-based non-profit that helps students access gap year opportunities, each academic year approximately 40,000–60,000 students take a break from school for a semester or year of experiential learning.

SAVE THE DATE

• and make your mark on the world.

• We recruit a from multiple professional backgrounds.

• work to solve the most challenging issues for the nation.

• draw on a diversity of talents, thoughts, and experiences.

 

 

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

Dr. Kristina Gonzales-Wartz, Navajo Nation

Assistant Research Scientist, Arizona State University Biodesign Institute

 

We last caught up with Dr. Kristina Gonzales-Wartz in the fall of 2020, in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time she was a biomedical scientist with the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), where she was on an important quest to develop monoclonal antibodies against COVID-19. Today Dr. Gonzales-Wartz is an assistant research scientist at the Arizona State University Biodesign Institute. We asked her to share how her path has developed.

 

How did you train?

During graduate school at New Mexico State University, I was a NIH Research Training Initiative for Student Enhancement (RISE) student for three-and-a-half years. During my graduate studies, I also joined the Lighting the Pathway to Faculty Careers for Natives in STEM (LTP) cohort. After graduating with my PhD, I did postdoctoral training at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease at the NIH in Rockville, Md. I was in my postdoctoral position for a year and five months. After completing my postdoctoral research, I transitioned into a laboratory technician position at an NIH laboratory (still in Rockville) for eight months before obtaining my current position.

 

How did you get your job?

I saw the posting for my current position on LinkedIn. I was looking for a job that would bring my family back to Arizona and I saw a job posting for an assistant research scientist for molecular biology at the Biodesign Institute at ASU on LinkedIn. I private messaged the person who posted the job and he asked me to send him my resume. Later, I was interviewed by him on Zoom. It turned out that he also had a background in malaria research, and he knew the PI and staff scientist I worked under during my NIH postdoctoral training. I believe that was the reason he offered me the position.

 

 

CAREER CORNER

 

To help you on your journey to determine a career pathway, each month we'll highlight one STEM profession and how you might use that career to support and build your tribal community after earning your degree. Many career paths are worth exploring — even those you've never heard about. Keep an open mind as you learn about various options within STEM, and discover your path to opportunity.

 

CIVIL ENGINEER

What they do:

Perform engineering duties in planning, designing, and overseeing construction and maintenance of building structures, and facilities, such as roads, railroads, airports, bridges, harbors, channels, dams, irrigation projects, pipelines, power plants, and water and sewage systems.

A person in this career:

  • Inspects project sites to monitor progress and ensures conformance to design specifications and safety or sanitation standards.
  • Computes load and grade requirements, water flow rates, or material stress factors to determine design specifications.
  • Provides technical advice to industrial or managerial personnel regarding design, construction, program modifications, or structural repairs.
  • Tests soils or materials to determine the adequacy and strength of foundations, concrete, asphalt, or steel.
  • Manages and directs the construction, operations, or maintenance activities at the project site.
  • Directs or participates in surveying to lay out installations or establish reference points, grades, or elevations to guide construction.
  • Estimates quantities and cost of materials, equipment, or labor to determine project feasibility.
  • Plans and designs transportation or hydraulic systems or structures using computer-assisted design or drawing tools.
  • Prepares or presents public reports on bid proposals, deeds, environmental impact statements, property, and right-of-way descriptions.
  • Designs energy efficient environmentally sound civil structures.

How can this type of career support my community?
A civl engineer can manage and direct the construction, operations, or maintenance activities of tribal project developments. They can also contribute to the growth of your tribal community by managing and directing the construction, operations, or maintenance activities on all tribal project developments.

 

GOING PLACES WITH AISES

STUDENT RESOURCES

ONLINE RESOURCES

SCHOLARSHIPS

$1,500 scholarship for students pursuing a vocational certificate or diploma at an accredited institution.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PK–12 STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES

Western University – London, Ontario, Canada

The Indigenous Student STEM Access Program (ISSAP) provides an alternative pathway for Indigenous students, including First Nations (Status and Non-Status), Métis, and Inuit, to pursue either an engineering or science program at Western University. This preliminary year provides students with the opportunity to transition successfully from high school to post-secondary studies and acclimate to university life.

 

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education

The Program Award for Technical and Higher-Education (PATH), sponsored by National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), offers scholarships to students from Minority Serving Institutions pursuing a technical certificate, or an associate, bachelor, or graduate degree in a science, technology, engineering, or mathematics (STEM)-discipline that supports the critical needs of the Nuclear Security Enterprise (NSE). The NSE has a wide array of critical needs that range from technical expertise and skilled trades to STEM research. Important areas of research include nuclear security, advanced manufacturing, cybersecurity, engineering, and energy systems. PATH is committed to serving diverse populations, providing education and programs that serve students with unique backgrounds, circumstances, needs, notions, and beliefs.

 

University of Minnesota Morris – Morris, Minn.

The University of Minnesota Morris offers tuition waivers to eligible American Indian students. The university also has a team in its Native American Student Success Program that supports students throughout their time at Morris. They offer academic, career, financial, social, and cultural advising. 

 

UNDERGRADUATE STUDENT OPPORTUNITIES

National Park Service – Alaska

Scientists in Parks provides immersive, paid work experiences in natural resource fields so the next generation of park stewards — especially those underrepresented in science — have a unique opportunity to work on important real world projects while building professional experience and a lifelong connection to America’s national parks.

  

DEEPenn STEM – Philadelphia, Penn.

Dive in and explore STEM graduate programs at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia from October 11–13. The program will be filled with workshops, cutting-edge research talks, and exclusive one-on-one networking sessions with Penn's faculty, grad students, post-docs, and staff. 

  

AI4ALL – Remote

AI4ALL Ignite offers a groundbreaking virtual and no-cost opportunity for undergraduate students who are enrolled in computer science or STEM-related majors and are interested in artificial intelligence as a career option. By the end of the program, students will be empowered with the in-demand skills needed to interview for AI technical internships.

  

American Chemical Society – Denver, Colo.

Applications for the ACS Bridge Travel Award are now open. This award provides students from historically marginalized groups who are in the chemical sciences with up to $2,000 in funding for registration, travel, and lodging costs to attend the ACS Fall Meeting in Denver, Colo., from Aug. 18–22. Apply by June 14.

GRADUATE/POSTDOCTORAL OPPORTUNITIES

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education – Quantico, Va.

The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Counterterrorism and Forensic Science Research Unit’s (CFSRU) provides technical leadership for the FBI as well as for other law enforcement and intelligence agencies through applied research and development. This project involves the development of extraction and instrumental methods for the analysis of residues from detonators (primary explosives) used in criminal cases. 

  

Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education – Washington, D.C.

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of International Affairs (IA), Office of Multilateral Climate and Clean Energy Engagement seeks motivated candidates to take on today's pressing climate challenges through a fellowship with DOE-STP. This fellowship will support the approximately 18 international clean energy initiatives and campaigns in which the United States participates within the Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM), a multilateral organization with 29 member countries working to rapidly increase the deployment of clean energy technologies. 

  

American Chemical Society – Indianapolis, Ind.

Ready to supercharge your chemistry career? Join us at the Career Kickstarter Workshop, organized by ACS Bridge Program and Eli Lilly. Get ready for enlightening sessions, interactive discussions, and expert guidance to propel your professional growth. The workshop will be held at the Eli Lilly headquarters in Indianapolis, IN between October 17–19. All expenses paid.

  

Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals – Anchorage, Alaska

The Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals (ITEP) is pleased and excited to convene the third Biennial National Tribal and Indigenous Climate Conference (NTICC), which will take place Sept. 9–12. This year’s theme is Shared Responsibility for Indigenous Climate Resilience. Register for in-person attendance by Aug. 19 at 7 p.m. PT, or virtual attendance by Sept. 6 at 7p.m. PT.
Winds of Change magazine image

 

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Paths to Opportunities and Winds of Change are published exclusively by AISES.

AISES works to substantially increase the representation of Indigenous peoples in STEM studies and careers.

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